Dragon Tail
by Twinado
Summary: Fairy Tail were officially the strongest guild in Fiore, after all they'd won the grand magic games. So why was it that things weren't getting any better. Did being the at the top simply mean you had more enemies than ever before?
1. Spelling Doom

**A/N: Hello peoples, this is my first fanfic so please try ot be gentle on me. It's set in the Fariy Tail universe assuming that nothing horribly wrong happens after the Grand Magic Games, that means no 10,000 dragons thank you very much :) Hope you enjoy and are looking forward to it's continuation!**

"Cheers!"

Lucy could still hear the shouts of her guild mates celebrating their victory in the Grand Magic games. It hadn't been easy, and the part she had played had been minuscule in comparison to her friends, but they had won. Fairy Tail was officially the strongest guild in Fiore, not Sabertooth, not Lamia Scale, Fairy Tail. Secretly she'd hoped to use the games as a way to show case herself, show the world her own strength, and although she'd only succeeded in getting severely beaten and captured maybe she had, in her own little way.

She could still remember the party afterwards, the joyous crys, the chanting, it had been a Fairy Tail party through and through, over the top and destructive. She'd loved every second of it, just as she'd never regretted a single moment she'd passed during her time in the guild. Cana had drunk the store room dry, barrel upon barrel left empty by the wayside. Gajeel, alcohol pumping through his metallic veins, had sung song after song despite the ridicule and tables thrown in his direction. She'd spent most the the party with Natsu, explaining how stupid some of his ideas were, never seemed to work, so it was up to her to help him pick himself up afterwards. She never questioned it, in fact she enjoyed it. Barrel surfing, another thing she needed to make sure she was out the way of when Natsu decided it was a good idea.

The party had been large, even by Fairy Tail standards. Not only the guild but the entire town had joined in, drunken ecstasy apparently a cure for any financial troubles the guild may have been in with the local council. It had consumed most of Fiore that night, a party the entire country could enjoy, Fairy Tail was the strongest.

So why was she in so much pain.

Lucy was lying face down in the dirt, blood trickling slowly from a wound on her head. The steady stream ran through her hair, over her ear and below her jaw making her look like a creature from a horror movie. Her hair was dark with dirt and her clothes ripped, torn in so many ways leaving only a sliver of cloth to keep her decent. How often had she ended up like this?

_Least pain means I'm still alive._

The thought didn't make her feel any better but it was something.

Maybe it was overconfidence that her caused her to be so carefree in choosing the mission. After the guild reclaimed the top position requests had flooded in, people all over the country wanted their problems solved by the guild that had dared to break the Sabertooth reign. So many requests, too many requests. It wasn't like Fairy Tail to let anyone down, no matter the danger, no matter the problem, the guild always did it's best to help those in need. When she'd seen the request she'd automatically jumped on it, even before checking to see what it entailed. It was worth 500,000 jewels for goodness sakes, she could be forgiven for her greed. When she'd read the small description and asked Mirajane about it, she'd been sure that it suited her just fine. It was a simple bounty request, take out some bandit that had been terrorising some rich old man and bring him to justice. Easy right? Even so she'd decided to bring Natsu along, you could never be too careful and Natsu was one of the strongest in the guild these days as well as being her partner, her best friend. Besides 250,000 jewels was more than enough for anyone, even her.

They'd travelled down to the little hamlet on foot, Natsu refusing to take the train, not that the train seemed to stop anywhere near the village anyway, and spent the next few hours tracking down the culprit. The bandit had turned out to be some dark mage that was trying to force the mayor to pay money for protection. It seemed odd therefore that they'd offered such a large reward to get rid of him, slightly ironic, though she had pushed the thought to the back of her mind.

Maybe she should have acted on that niggle earlier. The mage had turned out to be far nastier than she could have possibly imagined, and stronger too. He'd beaten her down without a second thought and was now fending off an enraged Natsu.

Lucy dragged herself to a seated position, and lay back against a near by tree. They'd found the mage's camp not too far into the thicket of trees close to the hamlet in question. It wasn't the most original of settings for an evil mastermind, but it was the camp itself which spelled doom. In a perfect circle around the clearing they'd found dead creatures, badgers, foxes, birds and mice, it seemed like the entire woodland had been hunted down and slaughtered as if to say, "Keep out".

Lucy began to focus her attention of the fight. No matter how strong this mage was Natsu would surely beat him, that was Natsu's forte, his battle strength, his need to save his friends. So why was Natsu so short of breath, why were his shoulders slumped forwarded as he shook where he stood? They were in trouble.

Natsu surged forward, his hand lighting up, fire burning over his fists, he smashed into the hooded figure that stood before him. They crashed the ground rolling a few metres before Natsu brought his fist into the mans head. Or rather what he thought was the man's head. The dark mage had been replaced by a thick army of vines which entangled themselves around Natsu's extended arm, wrenching the dragon slayer to his knees. Natsu let out a low hiss of pain before his flames burnt the thicket away, freeing his arm. Long, thick cuts covered the pink haired boy's arm, blood dripped from the wounds like rain down a window pane. Natsu cursed to himself, he glanced at the blonde who was slouched over a tree, he could see the puddle of blood that was beginning to form around her. He had to end this here.

"Bastard"

Natsu growled as he put all his remaining magical power into his flames, he felt reenergised. Reeved up though he was practically running on empty. Sparks flew from his body as he sucked in as much air as he physically could,

" Lightning flame dragon's roar!" he bellowed, his attack finding its mark, both burning and shocking the mage at the same time. The blast left a cloud of dust reeling around the air making it hard to breathe. Natsu was done, he sank to his knees, exhausted and almost entirely out of magical energy. He began to move over to Lucy, he needed to get her some help and soon. However, a deep icy laugh broke his concentration.

"Too bad Salamander, looks like this fight is mine"

He couldn't be surely? Natsu turned to see the mage standing before him, Natsu noted that the man's hood had been completely blown away and his left arm hung limply by his side blood falling neatly over the man's fingers. But he was standing, he'd taken Natsu's best attack and was still standing! If only there was some fire around Natsu was sure he could win, the mage had clearly taken a lot of damage, he was struggling to stand just as much as Natsu was but Natsu had put everything into that last attack. There was no way he could defend himself now. Natsu stiffened as the mage drew his hand back, a thick tree branch appearing in his hand. The mage smirked and swung the 'club', the intent to kill paramount.

_Lucy_


	2. Alive

**A/N: Hi everyone. Thanks for reading my fanfic again, I appreciate any feedback you can give me, just try not to wound me ^.^ I'm not planning on always updating as quickly as this but I've been so excited to get my ideas across that I found myself writing this chapter; enjoy!**

Natsu awoke with a start, his body rigid and drenched in a thin layer of moisture. He was laying on his back in a warm, but comfortable room staring up at the clear blue ceiling. He flexed his fingers carefully, checking that they still manoeuvred as he intended. Happy with the results he tried to concentrate on the last thing that he could remember.

He'd been fighting that ridiculous dark mage in the forest. He recalled his fist colliding with the man's skull and the counter attack that had left him reeling. He'd encountered the magic before, magic entwined with nature, but he'd never fought someone so adept in it's usage. In fact the last 'druid' he'd fought hadn't been much at all. Natsu had been able to simply burn away any attack the magician had mustered and proceeded to toss the guy aside. This time had been different though, the mage he had fought in the woods had been much stronger, much more deadly. Still, the fact Natsu was alive meant he had won, right?

Natsu smiled to himself, Lucy would be happy, this mission had been worth a lot of money, one of Lucy's desirables.

_Wait, LUCY!_

The dragon slayer realised with a start that Lucy hadn't been safe at all. They'd been ambushed by the dark mage and Lucy had taken the full brunt of the attack. She'd been bleeding everywhere! Natsu could still picture the pretty blonde slumped against the tree trunk, head slumped forwarded, eyes dazed. He cursed himself for not remembering sooner. What was he doing lying around? He needed to save his team mate.

Natsu sat up, or at least attempted to, but his body was constrained by a thick woven piece of fabric tied in a neat knot around his chest and whatever he was laying upon. Instead all he managed was a small buck which if anyone had seen, would have been extremely embarrassing. Panic began to set into Natsu as more of the fight began to come back to him, he hadn't won the fight at all, had he. Natsu could still feel how low his magic levels were, he'd used it all in the fight, and the mage had still been ready for another round. He'd lost.

The fire mage's stomach did turns, he hadn't been able to get Lucy to safety, he hadn't been able to get himself to safety. Judging by the way she had been bleeding Lucy was likely in serious trouble, or worse. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind. Considering he had been beaten, his body was definitely in a better condition than he would have expected. He couldn't feel any pain, fatigue sure, but no pain. In fact his body felt pretty strong. Natsu bent his elbow so he could took at his forearm. No wounds, not even a scratch. He frowned as he recalled the ivy that had flaked his skin from his bone as easily as if it had been paper. Surely something should indicate he'd been through the turmoil. He was getting off topic, he needed to find Lucy.

The dragon slayer began to gather his remaining magical energy together. He hoped to God that whom ever had tied him up was out of ear shot, the further the better. Natsu was in no position to be fighting, not until he'd had some proper rest. However his captive had been generous enough to tie the dragon slayer up in fabric, fabric that would burn if he could simply conjure a fire to his hand. Natsu concentrated hard, this was the most basic of his arsenal of magic, why was it so difficult? The felt the ember begin to ignite before a fully fledged flame burned brightly in his palm. Carefully so as not to set his clothes on fire Natsu urged the heat onto the ropes that constrained him. Instantly they caught alight and he could feel the pressure they had put him under sink away. He took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling above him. The ceiling was impossibly high, too high, what kind of building was this? Then he noticed a small white fluffy object gently moving across his vision as he stared upwards.

He wasn't inside at all.

He was outside! Now that the realisation had hit him he felt stupid for not realising sooner, who had ever heard of a moving roof anyway? Wait, he were moving...

Natsu's stomach did another flip, his head began to spin, no wonder he felt so weak, he was lying on freaking transportation, the bane of his very existence. It took all he had to raise his head a little bit more to view his surroundings.

He was lying on a little red plastic sleigh, no bigger than a shopping trolley and being pulled along through a meadow. All around him was an endless sea of green, buzzing with wildlife. Bees hummed happily, darting from one flower to another as birds chirped lazily in background. He could see a small grasshopper leap from one blade of grass to another. The field looked as if it had been directly taken out of a movie set, it was luscious, crisp and dam right beautiful. Natsu had to admit who ever his evil kidnapper was; they sure had taste.

Speaking of evil kidnappers it was high time Natsu bailed from his transportation prison cell, not that it would be difficult. The kidnapper had seemed to think that a single knot of rope would be enough to hold the great Natsu Dragneel down, there was no further protection. In fact all he needed to do was haul himself off the side. With a puff of his cheeks Natsu twisted his body so that it slipped off the side of the sleigh with a soft but noticeable thud. Instantly the feeling of nausea left him and he nimbly darted to his feet.

"Natsu"

A tearful blue ball of fur darted towards him and stuck itself to his face. Happy, Natsu's partner and best friend, the exceed that Natsu had given life to with Lissanna, was a bundle of emotions.

"Natsu, are you okay, do you want a fish?"

Natsu scoffed at the exceeds attempt to cheer him up. To Happy the world seemed to revolve around fish, be it as it may. Nevertheless Natsu had to admit he was happy to see his companion, but it did raise the question as to what exactly was going on. If Happy was free to move around either his kidnapper had some deranged perspective on the term 'kidnapped' or he'd entirely misjudged the situation.

"Lucy," Natsu managed to croak, it was only now he attempted to speak that he realised how dry his throat was.

"She's over here,"

The exceed point towards the direction that Natsu's head had been facing not so long ago. Lucy lay on her back on a second sleigh, a rope tied neatly around her waist, much as Natsu imagined himself looking not so long ago. Her eyes were closed and her breathing steady, Natsu watched the rise and fall of her chest, noting to himself that she was alive. In fact, she could very well be sleeping. There was no wound to the side of her head like Natsu remembered, no pool of blood surrounding her. She looked as she did every normal day, beautiful.

Natsu had to double take, the events leading up to him being here had definitely happened hadn't they? He could still hear the icy tone of the wizard ringing in his ears and still vividly see the blood around Lucy's body. Had it all just been a dream?

No, he was sure it had happened.

Natsu's gaze began to wonder further forward, in front of him stood a man, no older than himself smiling back at him. In his right hand the man held a rope which was fastened to the sleigh that Lucy was lying on. Whoever this guy was he was responsible for pulling both Natsu and Lucy into the middle of nowhere.

Natsu moved to confront the man, he couldn't sense any danger but he didn't like that fact he'd been moved without his consent to some random location.

"Who the heck are you?" Natsu blurted out.

The boy in front of him simply tilted his head to the side in response, the smile replaced by a smirk. Natsu examined the guy in front of him, sizing him up. It definitely wasn't the mage that he'd fought in the woods, the smell was different, this guy didn't smell like death. The man had dark hair, it was hard to determine whether it was black or just very dark brown, which was spiked lightly on the top. His eyes were a clear chocolate brown which sat under two ever so slightly triangular eyebrows. The man must have been about Grey's height but his shoulders were broader and stockier. He wore a grey t-shirt with a sunrise on it under a thick fur coat, brown on the inside, dirty green one the out. He wore blue sweat pants on his shorter than expected legs and two comfortable looking trainers. He definitely didn't look like some kind of evil mastermind.

"This is Taro," Happy explained, the pride of knowing something Natsu didn't all too apparent in his voice, "He's the one that saved you."

Natsu had to admit he was a little taken aback. Least now he knew he hadn't been dreaming of the pain he'd been in, but did Happy really want him to believe that this guy had waltzed into the woods at the exactly the right time, beaten that mage, and then pulled Lucy and himself out of there. Natsu supposed it didn't really matter either way, he and Lucy were alive, and whether it was due to this guy or not, he should be grateful.

As if reading Natsu's thoughts Taro spoke,

"You'd already done most the work if i'm honest, Natsu." He spoke in a well mannered tone, "All I really did was walk in there a push the guy over."

With that said Taro let out a little snort and turned to look over the horizon, hands on his hips.

"Still your lucky I was around."

The words stung Natsu more than he cared to admit, the pride within him didn't allow for others to take his glory. He wasn't the damsel in distress, he was the knight in shining armour! Still he shrugged it off, the guy seemed nice enough.

"How's Lucy?"

Taros eyes caught his, the look incredibly serious. Natsu froze fearing the words that could leave the boy's lips.

"She's fine." A smile broadened across Taro's features suddenly. Natsu felt stupid, this guy was toying with him.

"She was a little beat up, nothing a little rest wont fix."

Natsu struggled to comprehend this statement, he had been sure of the wounds on both himself and Lucy. Slowly they began to walk again, Natsu simply followed, feeling too tired to investigate the guy in front of him. Happy perched on the now empty sleigh, curled up in a ball and quickly dozed off. All his emotional energy spent. Natsu sighed, he was the one that was knackered, why was Happy getting to rest. Sensing his displeasure Taro turned to him for the first time in a good 10 minutes.

"We can stop if you like" the dark haired boy smiled, "We're in no rush to get home."

Natsu nodded and the two of the sat down next to the sleighs carrying Natsu's team-mates.

"Home?" Natsu questioned, "Your home?"

Taro shook his head.

"Nah, our home," he replied rolling up his sleeve to reveal a slight blue imprinted symbol,

"Fairy Tail."


	3. Home is where the heart is

**A/N: Thanks to everyone that has read my story to this point! I hope your enjoying reading it as much as I am enjoying writing it :) I really didn't expect to be updating this quickly but Im really enjoying the story so far, so I've released 3 chapters in 3 days! I doubt it will continue at this pace but I do intend on seeing this through to the end, have no fear! If anyone wants to make me a cover that would be great XD I'll probably google something if not.**

Natsu could hear Magnolia Town well before it came into eye line. The bustling merchant city never quite seemed to want to be as peaceful and tranquil as it's surroundings, not that it was a fault. No, Natsu felt that Magnolia was perfect the way it was. He'd spent the last 7 years here after all, or was it 14? Natsu still had a hard time determining what to think about the seven years that he'd lost. The most important people to him, his family, the guild of Fairy Tail, hadn't really changed at all, or so he had thought. Meeting Taro had begun to make him realise that 7 years was indeed a long time to be away.

They'd walked in silence most of the way back, not an awkward silence, rather Taro seemed content on leaving Natsu to his thoughts, something Natsu very much appreciated. It wasn't as if they'd been that far away from the city in the first place, in fact they'd barely been walking 45 minutes when the first sounds of people came into earshot. It surprised Natsu to find himself home so quickly, but he was happy, he wanted to relax for a while, re cooperate some of his lost energy. Nevertheless he was already feeling a little better, counter-intuitive perhaps considering he'd walked the entire way despite Taro's suggestions. They'd stopped only that one time, not long after Natsu had gotten up. Taro had rolled up his sleeve to show Natsu his Fairy Tail stamp. Proof that Taro was a member of Natsu's family. It seemed strange, he'd never met the guy but the boy definitely knew a lot about Natsu, and Lucy for that matter, or at least he seemed to. According to Taro he'd joined the guild 4 years after the disaster on Tenrou island, whilst the major players of the guild were still in they're blissful slumber. It seemed odd to Natsu that his family could grow without him even knowing, though he supposed those whom had remained behind had changed, even if he hadn't.

Lucy still lay unconscious on the sleigh that Taro had pulled presumably from the hamlet all the way to Magnolia. Quite the trek, Natsu had to admire the boy's stamina. He'd offered to take a turn at pulling the train but Taro had simply waved him off and told him to rest easy, at which Natsu felt surprisingly satisfied. As they began to make they're way through the final mile to Magnolia, Taro stopped and turned to him.

"It's probably about time you got up now, hey Lucy?" Taro's voice was calm and warming, and the pretty blonde reacted to the words as you might expect of any teen being woken from they're slumber.

"I'm asleep. Dammit. Just 5 more minutes." Lucy's voice was soft and croaky, Natsu imagined the dryness he had felt when he first woke up, the thought made him shudder slightly. The thought quickly left his mind and feeling of pure joy washed over him, replacing the worry he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

"Lucy, your awake," Natsu chirped, he always worried about Lucy, always.

"She's been awake for the past 15 minutes or so," Taro motioned to the way they had come, "I have a feeling she was just enjoying the ride."

At this Lucy tried to sit up, cheeks flushed with embarrassment at being called out on her own laziness, however the rope, which prevented her from slipping off the sleigh, tugged her back down. The girl simply floundered in place. At this both boys sniggered to each other before resounding into full blown hysterics. This only proved to cause the blonde to turn an even darker red.

"Do you want me to get up or not?" Lucy snapped out, barely maintaining a steady voice. Taro simply chuckled and held his hand out to allow Natsu to burn away the strings. As soon as the tension left her body Lucy sighed, took a deep gulp of air and sat up, blinking as her eyes adjusted to being open for the first time in a while. Eventually her eyes settled on the little blue cat that was sleeping on the sleigh behind her, where Natsu had previously been. Her temper quickly flared.

"If I'm not allowed to sleep neither are you," at this Lucy kicked out sending Happy flying a few metres. The cat took a second to pick himself up before screaming something about Lucy being mean. Seemingly content Lucy turned her attention to the two boys hovering over her. A puzzled look spread across her features. Whatever she'd been meaning to ask, most likely about whom the boy that stood next to Natsu was exactly, seemed to pass through her thoughts but she decided to ignore it. If Natsu trusted the guy with her, she was sure he could be trusted.

Few words were exchanged between the four as they made their way into the bustling streets of Magnolia. Lucy was thankful that the boys had made her get up when they had, how embarrassing it would have been to be dragged through the city on a sleigh. The damsel in distress look seemed to suit her all to well. As they made their way up to the guild a thought crossed her mind.

"What happened to the mission?"

The question was simple but Natsu actually had no idea of the answer. He assumed that they'd failed it since neither of them had taken out the bounty target. However as he was about to respond Taro chucked a large roll of notes in Lucy's direction, hitting her on the nose and bouncing off the cobblestone below them. Lucy rubbed her nose and without saying a word bent down to pick up the cash. She slowly began to count as they continued to walk towards the largest building in Magnolia, the Fairy Tail guild.

Having won the grand magic games had meant more that just reclaiming the number one spot for Fairy Tail. The winners of the tournament were given 30 million jewels, 30 million jewels that had been invested in both purchasing and refurbishing the old guild building from 7 years ago. It was actually the first time any of the 4 had seen the new Fairy Tail, Lucy, Natsu and Happy had all left as the changeover had been in process. They had to admit though, the old girl looked good.

'Fairy Tail' had always been imprinted above the doorway in an extravagant manner but now the text seemed to be jumping out at you, as if the walls were screaming the name in your direction. The characteristic guild emblem sat in stark contrast to the grey walls of the building in a brilliant red, shining out over all of Magnolia. Lucy found herself beaming with pride, her home had never looked so good.

As if on cue the doors to the guild burst open and Romeo came charging out clutching a piece of paper to his chest.

"Mirajane I'm taking this request."

The barmaid looked slightly confused and quickly glanced in the direction of Romeo's father, Macao, who had slowly risen to his feet and was charging towards the door as quickly as could be expected from the 43 year old. Romeo ran down the steps, Lucy had never seen him so excited though she supposed he'd never really been on a mission, on his own or otherwise. She remembered her first time too, the thrill the excitement, she had to admit she almost envied the boys enthusiasm.

Romeo smiled as he caught sight of Natsu, the boy idolised the dragon slayer for whatever reason, and waved the piece of paper in Natsu's face. Lucy was able to get a glance at the mission, it seemed simple enough, 10,000 jewels to help some farmer with a wolf problem, even Romeo could deal with something like that by himself, perhaps she should try to convince his father to let him go, as a learning experience if nothing else.

Natsu took the complete opposite stance snatching the paper away from Romeo.

"What's this crappy mission," the dragon slayer cried in anguish, "Romeo, this is pathetic."

Romeo looked stunned at he stared at his hero with big beady eyes, mouth agape before nodding to himself in agreement. With that he turned around just as his father caught up with him. Panting, Macao opened his mouth to speak but only heavy panting could be heard.

"Your getting old, master" Taro, whom Lucy had momentarily forgotten about chimed.

_Master... _

Lucy thought to herself for a second, did that mean this guy was part of Fairy Tail too? Macao, who had finely caught his breathe grinned through his greying moustache.

"Oh, Taro it's good to see you."

"Likewise," the dark haired boy replied, nonchalantly looking down at his finger nails, "though I suppose your not the master any more."

Macao seemed upset by the boys words, he still longed for the authority of being called master and had hoped that Taro would provide that ray of sunshine. In fact he'd barely been able to enjoy it at all. He had expected someone to mention the fact that he was no longer the guild master of Fairy Tail but he hadn't expected Taro to know so quickly. Depressed, Macao slumped his shoulders and began to walk back towards the guild building to which both Natsu and Taro began to laugh.

_These two are getting on surprisingly well already _

Romeo who had stayed quiet during the entire encounter turned to them and smiled.

"So I see you met Taro." The young fire mage seemed excited, "Did you finish your mission Taro?"

"Course I did, since when did I fail." Taro said sniggering to the fire mage and placing a hand in the younger boys hair. "Though I think the biggest challenged is going to be meeting everyone in there."

As Taro spoke a chair leg flew out the open guild doors and shattered on the ground a good few metres from the entrance. Shouts could be heard inside followed by the thumps of fist against flesh as one of the iconic brawls of the guild erupted. Natsu was perturbed by the goings on, annoyed that his body didn't have the strength to allow him to join in the fray. Lucy, for one, was actually thankful. She eyed Taro out of the corner of her eye smiling at the catastrophe of a guild.

_I guess he's never seen it this lively_

The thought cut Lucy deeper than a dagger, the pang of guilt settling in her stomach. How different the guild must be now that everyone was back, how strange it must be to have not known the old guild. Ignoring the excitement, the group trudged up the remaining few steps as they made their way into the new Fairy Tail.

Instantly upon entering a shard of ice as large as a spear was launched in Natsu direction narrowly missing the dragon slayers head and colliding with the hard stone wall behind him. Natsu angrily glared at his friend and rival Grey, who stood half naked with a smirk spread across his features.

"Come on flame brain"

It was all the encouragement Natsu needed, he nudged Romeo and muttered something which instantly resulted in a fire ball being conjured. Natsu quickly ingested the flames, wiped his lips and dove at the ice mage. Lucy could only sigh as she moved towards the bar.

"Hey Mira," Lucy smiled at the beautiful poster girl whom worked behind the bar. Mirajane smiled at her, as she always did and nodded in response.

"You look tired Lucy."

Was that an insult? Lucy fought back the urge to bark at Mirajane, she knew the girl was incapable of lying, she just said whatever popped into her head. Regardless it was true, Lucy felt helplessly drained.

"Yeah, I'm beat."

"Well at least your back in one piece." The bar maid wiped a glass clean and set it down to dry with several others. "The mission you went on was meant to be S-Class only."

Lucy wanted to say she was surprised by the news but the truth was she'd had a niggling feeling since the beginning. Fairy Tail had gotten so many requests since their resounding win in the Grand Magic Games that Mira had a hard time sifting through them all. A 500,000 jewel request was clearly going to be a difficult one.

"It would have been my fault if you'd got hurt," Mira smiled sadly, "By the way, who's your friend."

Mira pointed towards Taro who had sat down with Macao and Romeo and was deep in conversation with Max.

"I'm not entirely sure." Lucy admitted, "He was just kinda there" She didn't want to admit that she'd been out cold or that as usual Natsu had come to her rescue. Lucy watched as Macao called Makarov over and they began to converse quietly to one another. A short time passed and Lucy felt herself beginning to dose off, she could spot her friends dotted around the guild, some talking some fighting, but all with smiles on their faces, it made her smile too. Just as she was about to dose off Erza stood up and bellowed around the guild for everyone to be quiet. The affect was instantaneous, even rowdy Natsu knew to be quiet whenever the scarlet devil sounded angry. Makarov got to his feet and dusted himself off. There were murmurs around the guild as people began to speculate about what the old man wanted. Those whom hadn't noticed Taro by now glanced over at him, eyes wide with curiosity.

"Right my brats," the guild master could command authority when he wanted to and the murmurs instantly stopped.

"This, is Taro." The the old man gestured to the dark haired boy sitting next to him. "He's part of our family, so I expect you to treat him like family." That was all the master could muster before everyone in the guild jumped onto the table where Taro had been sitting. Makarov grumbled about being to old and walked off as Taro was interrogated by his brats.

"It's nice to meet you,"

"Where you from?"

"What kind of magic do you have?"

Question after question was bombarded at the defenceless mage as he wilted under the intense gaze of the guild. Lucy chuckled to herself, it was kinda cute to see him getting crushed by the enormity of the people around him. She remembered joining the guild herself, though she thanked the lord she didn't have to go through it twice. Eventually, realising Taro hadn't had a sliver of a chance to answer any of their questions, the mob began to move back, little by little. Taro scratched his head laughing as Romeo stood up.

"This is Taro," he repeated the master's words "He joined the guild 3 years ago when most of you weren't here and he's the only person who passed my dad's S-Class exam."

A stunned silence filled the room, Lucy felt herself slightly shocked too. To be S-Class in Fairy Tail was quite the feet, the 4 people on Tenrou whom were counted amongst the numbers were some of the strongest, scariest people she knew. The fact that this boy could be counted amongst them seemed absurd. He was so... unthreatening, though she supposed Mirajane was the same until you made her angry. Lucy watched Erza nodding to herself as she came to terms with the revelation. Lucy was pleased she wasn't the only one who was slightly shocked. She looked around the room and noticed there was a distinct difference between the people who had been on Tenrou and those whom had not. Lucy called Waren over to explain.

"He's a monster, just like the others."

Lucy still found it hard to believe that such a boy could command the same respect as Erza from the guild, he was about her age for goodness sake, maybe she could be s-class too. Lucy began to think that the s-class exam must have been easier since it had been set by Macao, though judging by the trouble Natsu had sparring with Max on their return it couldn't have been so easy. Lucy didn't notice the dragon slayer whom sat down net to her until he spoke.

"So what was the exam like?" Natsu's question phrased in such a way that Lucy realised he must be thinking down the same lines. Waren turned to them shaking his head slowly.

"He was clearly the strongest in the guild, no doubt." He voice was steady, not a hint of a lie, "Macao told him if he could beat the whole guild by himself, one by one with no break, he could be s-class."

Waren didn't need to finish his sentence, taking on the entire Fairy Tail guild was nuts, by yourself was crazy. Lucy found it hard to believe, though she considered the fact that the strongest mages weren't around and guessed it must have been slightly easier. Lucy was impressed though, that was for sure. She turned to Natsu to see fire in the dragon slayers eyes.

"So he's that strong, huh." Natsu's voice was twitching, just like his body.

"I'm gonna fight him." Natsu declared a flame burning in his hand.

"I'm all fired up!"


	4. Toasty Tempers

**A/N: Another day, another chapter, I must be going insane. Hope your enjoying the ride as much as I am. I have no intentions of taking any shortcuts with this story, its gonna follow my plan through thick and thin and hopefully come out the other side looking good :) Let me know what you think!  
**

Flames flickered around Natsu's arms as he steadily made his way through the crowd of people separating him from his target. Lucy watched from the bar feigning a shocked expression. In reality it was just as she would have expected, Natsu loved to pick fights with anyone, and everyone. The dragon slayer especially seemed to like challenging the S-Class mages in the guild, whether it be Erza, Luxus or Guildarts. He may never have beaten any of them, hell most of the time he'd been wiped out in an instant, but Lucy couldn't fault his tenacity. In fact the general feeling was that Natsu fought with restraint whenever he went against one of his comrades, he never seemed to fight at his full potential unless someone was in trouble. Lucy had to worry that although Taro was undoubtedly now a part of the family Natsu hadn't quite struck the same bond of trust with the boy. After all, they'd known each other for a day, if even. Least Natsu wouldn't kill the boy, in fact it occurred to Lucy that Natsu was better at showing his emotions through actions rather than words. Perhaps this was Natsu's own way of welcoming Taro to the guild, into his life. She felt slightly pleased that Natsu had sought to deal with her arrival in a different way. Actually now that she thought about it what did his actions tell her about his feelings. She had to hide a blush as her imagination ran a muck.

"This should be good." The silent Warren suddenly spoke causing Lucy to jump out of her trail of thought with a loud and clamorous crash to the floor. She muttered as she dusted herself off and noted the sad smile on Mirajane's face.

_That girl seems to always know what I'm thinking_

When Lucy had finally regained her composure she looked over to Natsu tugging the helpless Taro out the back-door followed by a group of excited guildies. Everyone knew Natsu's strength, he hadn't half demonstrated it when he took down both Sting and Rogue by himself in the Grand Magic Games, though like always he'd been riled up by his emotions. Lucy had to admit she was excited to see what Taro could do against a dragon, she secretly hoped that he had some kind of anti-temper magic, that should cool Natsu off for a while. Or maybe some kind of intelligence boosting magic, that could be useful too. She supposed she was being silly so she decided to follow the ramble outside, Mirajane and Warren not far in tail.

As Lucy exited into the warm evening sun and took her place in the crowd that had surrounded the boys in an enclosed arena, she had to stifle a laugh. Taro looked positively confused as to what exactly was going on, one second he'd been enjoying a conversation with Max, whom he had not seen in a descent length of time, the next he'd been swarmed by the inquisitive guild and now he was expected to fight like a dog in an arena. It was a completely different tone to that he had experienced when he'd joined the guild, at that time the place had seemed devoid of any happiness. Now it was bursting with it. The dark haired boy smiled as he stood up dusting himself off and turned to his fiery opponent.

"You really wanna get your ass whooped, huh?"

The mocking statement encouraged jeers from the crowd, it was hard to determine who exactly was being cheered for louder. There were plenty of people who wanted to see Natsu get his ass handed to him, even if he didn't intend it Natsu could often push peoples buttons. Of course Natsu had his own little support club led mainly by Lucy herself. Then again, even Lucy wanted to see the dragon slayer knocked down a few pegs. Natsu simply grinned and, as if an invisible bell had been rung, sprung into a fighting stance. Taro simply slipped his hands into his pockets and smirked.

Suddenly the fight erupted, the crowd grew louder as the anticipation was replaced by excitement. Lucy noted that Cana had been collecting bet money, which didn't surprise her at all. It suddenly occurred to Lucy that the crowd was much too big, she glanced around and realised a lot of town fokes had gathered to watch the salamander fight. Lucy guessed that they hadn't quite had enough of Natsu in the grand magic games, after all he'd missed the last day to come storming after her. Natsu would always come back for her, the thought made Lucy feel warm inside.

Natsu's arm was shining a brilliant flaming red as he charged at the dark haired boy standing before him. He hadn't lied at the bar, he was fired up for this. This Taro was strong and Natsu had known it the moment he'd layed eyes on the guy. It had been pretty obvious from the way he'd brushed off his daring rescue as if it were nothing. Natsu was also curious as to what the boy's magic exactly was, Natsu was sure it was something that was less combat orientated than his flames. He only needed to glance at his arm which was no longer covered in scratches to know that he had some kind of healing abilities. He would have left it at that had Waren not been saying how strong the guy was, he needed to see it for himself, he needed to thank Taro for his help in the only way Natsu knew how.

Natsu's flames only grew stronger as he swung to make contact with Taro. Natsu didn't hold back, he wasn't entirely sure why but he wanted to test this guy with everything he had. Natsu's hand flew forward, further and further, had he missed? No, his arm had seemingly just passed through Taro on the way to the floor beneath him. A huge clump of dust erupted out of the ground causing the crowd to splutter in disgust. Natsu could barely make out the figure of the boy standing just behind him.

"You missed."

Natsu growled at him, it was rare for Natsu to misjudge an attack, he was so used to combat afterall. It was clear to all those who knew him that Taro had done something to avoid that attack, the question was what. Natsu felt his power flowing stronger as he returned to full on assault.

"After I just cleaned you up as well"

The boy was still mocking him, Natsu couldn't take it. His attacks simply weren't hitting the mark. Suddenly he felt an hand catch his arm mid swing and a sharp elbow struck him under the chin. Natsu fell backwards gasping. It hurt, but it had only been an elbow nothing more. Natsu decided it was time for a new attack strategy, he aimed at the ground and let out a huge breath of fire which instantly vaporised the soft mud below the fighters causing a cloud of dust to swirl above them. Natsu had been ready and closed his eyes as his attack had struck, his opponent had not been so prepared. Natsu lunched forward again flames flickering around his palms as he used one of his signature moves, Fire dragon's iron fist. This time his attack connected and he felt Taro's shoulder give way under his attack. Pleased with himself Natsu refused to give up just then, he planned on winning this fight whether he hurt his new friend or not. He quickly swirled around screaming out his next attack, crimson Lotus exploding flame blade. It was one of his most powerful attacks and feeling it connect gave Natsu the satisfaction he required.

Lucy watched the fight in awe, she'd suspected Natsu might not hold back against Taro but he was absolutely going for it. She had no doubt Natsu still had a bunch in reserve, but he was by no means being gentle. Poor Taro. Still the dust was clearing and there were still two men standing, no victor as of yet. It was only when the dust had cleared that the fight could be judged in either direction. Natsu stood to her left, panting a few drops of sweat dropping from his chin at the exertion of the magical power. Taro stood on her right, a small bruise forming on his shoulder the only indication that anything had happened at all. Lucy was shocked, she and everyone else had felt Natsu's attacks find their mark, the entire crowd had winced in unison. Still he didn't look in the least bit near giving up.

Taro grinned out at Natsu, a set of clean straight teeth shining out at the dragon slayer. Natsu, unlike the crowd didn't seem to be too surprised at his state. He simply grinned back. Natsu took a gulp of air, and was about to go for a second, trying hard to regain his composure when he felt a hard fist slam into his gut. Taro's fist hung there embedded in Natsu's core for a good second before the dragon slayer tumbled backwards. It wasn't over there, in a flash Taro was on top of the falling dragon slayer, a hard knee finding its way into Natsu's spine. Natsu released an ear splitting groan which was cut short as he was launched into the ground by two strong hands that had wrapped themselves around his mid section.

The crowd was stunned, the attack had been so fluid, so instantaneous, that it had looked rehearsed. If Lucy hadn't known that the two had only met hours before she may have very well called them out on planning the entire thing. She watched as her partner slowly dragged himself up to one knee, then shakily back to his feet.

"I knew you were strong."

The words barely left Natsu's mouth as sparks of electricity began to gather around the dragon slayer's finger tips. Lighting flame dragon mode was Natsu's ace in the hole. The fire mage drew back readying himself, took in a deep breath and fired his powerful breath at the boy standing not two metres away from him. There was no time to dodge and the guild knew that a full frontal blast of something as powerful as this spelt disaster for whom ever was on the receiving end. Taro barely had time to lift a hand to defend himself, in fact he had no time at all he simply stood there and was enveloped in the attack. Natsu sank down to his knees again, he wasn't at full strength, he knew that, he'd been out cold not so long ago. The strain of using lightning flame dragon mode made his body feel heavy. The explosion from his attack still resounded around the makeshift arena, he hoped Taro was okay, he hadn't mean to take it this far but the boy had exceeded all his expectations. He'd been calm and collected like an S-Class mage should, Natsu had learnt that from Guildarts, and definitely had the power to boot.

The dust slowly cleared and a hushed silence filled the evening air. Taro stood, hands in his pockets, not a single scratch on his body or his clothing. Nothing had changed, it was as if Natsu's attack had simply not affected him at all. He cocked his head to the side before looking up at the sky, Lucy's eyes followed his upwards, it was a beautiful sight. The light reflecting off the dust that had been thrown up and trickled down through it, like a filter in a huge spectrum of colours. Greens, blues, reds, it was breathtaking. The tension in the crowd seemed to melt away and the memories of the fight seemed to fade away for all, bar the dragon slayer who just stared at Taro in disbelief. How much stronger Natsu had gotten and yet he could barely scratch this boy, the only mark Taro had to take from the fight so far was small bruise on his shoulder, which was fading fast by the looks of it. The were no burn marks, no scorch marks, nothing to indicated anything more than a simple pub brawl. Had Taro even used magic once? Natsu hadn't been hit with anything more than bare skin, there was no empowering of any of the attacks with magic. Natsu hadn't learnt a thing about Taro other than that consolation that he did have some kind of healing power. Natsu quickly gathered his remaining energy together willing his flames to share the lightning in equal measure, he prepared for his next attack, one that surely would leave a mark.

It was then that Natsu felt a hand on his head and he driven hard into the ground. All the energy he had remaining left him and he landed painfully on his stomach. Erza stood above him glaring.

"Have the good sense to stop!" The women growled, fiercer than any dragon. Natsu quivered in fear of the women he'd grown up with, if anyone knew her strength it was him. Natsu saw the trainers coming towards him and a hand placed affectionately on his shoulder.

"That was fun hey Natsu," the boy spoke in barely more than a whisper but Natsu could hear him clear as day. He grumbled in agreement to which Taro chuckled to himself.

"We'll have a chance to have a proper fight soon, it wouldn't be fair to keep going today." The boys tone wasn't one of mock, the statement actually made Natsu feel pleased, he tugged himself to a seated position.

"Yeah." A trademark grin spread across Natsu's face. The boy slapped him on the back, causing Natsu to wince, reflecting the same smile back.

"What say we form a team?"


	5. A reason to celebrate

**A/N: Thanks again for reading. This is a considerably shorter chapter which will hopefully have more meaning in the long run, I'm just laying the foundations still, just you wait :3**

It didn't matter that the crowd was about as loud as an elephant playing a piano, Lucy could hear the conversation between the two boys with ease. Maybe she'd picked up some of the dragon slayers habits from hanging around with him all day, everyday. They were discussing the idea of forming a team, a Fairy Tail team but as of yet her name hadn't been mentioned once. It stung Lucy to hear Natsu so readily agreeing to become someone else's partner without even consulting her first. Lucy wanted to cry but instead her sadness turned to anger and she marched over to the boys to give them a piece of her mind. She had barely crept out of the circle before the dragon slayer sniffed her scent, at least that was what she assumed he did since he seemed to instantly turn around to face her, his face spread in his trademark grin. Lucy's rage instantly subsided, the damn boy knew exactly how to play her. Natsu grabbed her hand and pulled her into him, she landed comfortably on his thighs.

"Lucy, Taro wants to form a team.!" The dragon slayer sounded so excited Lucy's heart couldn't take it, she didn't want to prevent the boys happiness, in fact Natsu's happiness meant everything to her.

_Is that weird?_

The thought made her blush some though she did her best to hide it. She caught Taro's eyes and he gave her a knowing smile.

_Great now even he can read me_

It was the second time that day that she felt like someone had simply looked inside of her and interpreted her emotions for her. It only took a second for her to reclaim her composure, years of practise in front of the upper class had taught her that. She suddenly realised she was still sitting in Natsu's lap and although she would have loved to stay there, she quickly shifted her weight onto the floor with a gracious thud. Natsu's smile hadn't faded as he whispered to her.

"Isn't it great?"

_Yeah, great for you maybe._

Lucy thought miserably. She was no longer going to be Natsu's partner, from today she'd be a lone ranger, a free spirit. Natsu was still talking, Lucy forced herself to tune in.

"So we can go on S-Class missions right? That's awesome lets go pick one Lucy"

Lucy had to admit she was surprised as Natsu tugged her back towards the guild, through the back door and up the flight of stairs that led to the S-Class mission board. In reality they weren't really allowed up here, only those whom were officially s-class were able to take missions from the board but she supposed everyone was still busy outside. The board was not what you would call full, compared to the downstairs board this one was positively empty. A few limp scraps of paper hung by pins from the wall as if dead leaves on a tree. Lucy quickly counted the 5 missions, 5 lowly missions. Suddenly being s-class didn't seem to appealing. The thought only remained until she saw the reward for the mission she was currently peering at over Natsu's shoulder. 2 million jewels, two freaking million! Lucy could barely believe it, that was enough for so many months of rent, new clothes, food, everything she might want. She had to blink as she thought about it. She barely had time to register the thoughts as she grabbed the job straight off the board. It was only then that she realised that she wasn't going on this job anyway.

Natsu looked at the blonde, he could barely contain his excitement, he'd been on an S-class mission before but that had been with Erza, this time if he went with Taro he'd actually be able to do something. Taro wasn't as stuck up as Erza, he also wasn't as serious. Natsu found himself liking the guy more and more.

"Wanna take that job then Lucy?" The voice came from behind them and caused the hairs on Lucy's neck to stand on end. Taro stood arms crossed over his chest leaning against the banister. Lucy's heart sank once again, thats right, she hadn't been invited. This was something between the two boys afterall. Taro quickly stumbled over to them and took the request from Lucy's hand. She watched his eyes light up as he noticed the reward, turns out this guy was about as greedy as her. He nodded slowly.

"Looks easy enough."

Lucy was caught off guard, the request was to liberate an island of pirates whom were apparently ransacking the ports. The text specifically pressed home the use of powerful magic and expert leadership. To Lucy it didn't sound like a walk in the park at all. Still Taro looked set.

"So when do you want to leave?"

Lucy suddenly realised that Taro was addressing her. She lifted a finger and mouthed the word 'me' as she pointed a thumb into her chest. Taro looked confused and nodded slowly.

"I'm invited?" Lucy cried, not hiding the surprise in her voice.

"Of course you are." Taro stated as if it had always been obvious, "You and Natsu are a pretty inseparable couple."

Taro had to stifle a laugh as both the dragon slayer and the celestial mage tried to hide their blushes, Lucy turned her head to the side and Natsu simply tucked his chin into his scarf. Finally regaining his composure Taro waved them off, and muttered something about the guild returning.

The atmosphere seemed to change in an instant. A loud crash was heard as the back door was flung open and a steady stream of Fairy Tail magians waltzed back into the building. Natsu quickly pushed Lucy towards the stairs and they quickly and nimbly descended them, making sure to stay out of sight of anyone who may try to call them out on their whereabouts. The question finally registered in Lucy's mind as to why it had taken so long for the mages to return. Had something else happened while they had been picking the job? She headed towards a table at the side of the room where a brunette girl, clad only in a bra and underwear, sat with a barrel of drink to her face. Cana was the guild's alcoholic, and a pretty amazing one at that, she could drink anyone under a rug and still be up at 9 am the next day. It impressed Lucy in a way, though she wouldn't admit it. The drunk put down the barrel as Lucy approached and smiled.

"Hey, Lucy, what are you gonna do?"

The question threw Lucy off guard.

"Eh?" Her reply seemed to irritate the brunette.

"For Fantasia, idiot, Master was just saying."

Now it all made sense, why everyone was in such a good mood, master must have made the announcement whilst they'd been inside. If she'd been thinking she probably could have worked it out. Magnolia's harvest festival was always headlined by Fairy Tail's fantasia parade. It was genuinely the highlight of the event for the majority of the towns people. Still it was a yearly occurrence, why were people so excited? Afterall last Fantasia had been a horrible mess in which Laxus had attempted to annihilate the entire guild, and become master by force. The thought only then hit Lucy that the truth was, until only recently Fairy Tail had not been the guild of Magnolia, it had been Twilight Orge whom she doubted were quite as charismatic as her peers. In other words, the last Fantasia had been the Laxus take over, this was the first one in 8 years!

The excitement bubbled up in Lucy, she had always loved performing and this was another case to show off her talent. She imagined the weekly sorcerer magazine publishing an article on her, she could picture her face plastered over every cover, in every book store. Lucy swooned in ignorant bliss. Little to her knowledge Cana, Natsu and Taro were whispering to each other and pointing at her ridiculous expression. It was only when Natsu waved a hand in front of her face that she returned to reality.

"So apparently you were upstairs with Natsu during Master's speech," Cana raised an eyebrow, "Anything juicy you want to tell me?"

Lucy felt herself turning red as she screamed at the girl to shut her trap. Natsu simply laughed, ignorance truly is bliss.

"Regardless" Taro motioned to the girl to calm down, "I think we should leave this mission until after the festival."

Natsu nodded in agreement, it was easy to tell that the dragon slayer was looking forward to it as well, but the festival came first. There was a bunch of preparation to do before the festival, it was likely that as many hands as possible would be needed to make sure everything ran smoothly. Lucy doubted they could leave even if they wanted to.

It was only then that Erza made her presence known. She'd been standing a little way back in the space between the table and the wall and none of the 4 people sitting had noticed her presence. Even Natsu hadn't sensed the girl. Each of them reacted in different ways; Lucy let out a little squeal; Natsu jumped up, flames engulfing his fists; Taro jumped; and Cana simply burped. It must have been some sight. Erza nodded towards Taro and motioned towards the second floor staircase. Lucy could see Mirajane and Laxus leaving their seats and heading in the same direction. Taro simply nodded turned to the table and smiled before walking off with Erza in tow. Lucy looked from Cana to Natsu but neither of them seemed to know what was going on. Not that it was important, if it were she was sure that the guild would be the first to know, secrets weren't secrets for very long in Fairy Tail.

The night was still young when Taro returned to them by which time the party was in full swing. Natsu had created a fortress out of tables and was currently pelting Grey's igloo changing room with bits of clothing the ice mage had left lying around. A pair of boxers seemed to hang significantly longer in the air, which the entire guild rejoiced at. This was a Fairy Tail party, loud and dangerous. Lucy wouldn't have it any other way.


	6. The Living Forest

**A/N: So this chapter is going to give Taro a bit more of a back story and I thought it would be nice to intertwine it with the story of character we all know and love. :) **

The morning light crept through the curtains of Lucy's bedroom giving the room a mysterious vibe. It was like little pixie's were dancing from the desk to the door as the shadows elongated due to the new light. It was a good first sight for the day, Lucy felt content just to watch in awe as the colours swirled around her. The previous night had been frantic, like every other Fairy Tail party, and she wasn't entirely sure what time she'd crawled back home and under the covers. Still, she was glad she was warm and cosy in her own bed. Though the first signs of her hangover had started to rear their ugly head. She wasn't usually much of a drinker, drinking wasn't considered very lady so her father had refused her the application, she was literately the definition of a light weight. In fact she'd only sampled booze after she had joined Fairy Tail at one of these crazy parties, it hadn't been the good stuff like the exotic wines that her household had served but rather just plain old sake. She didn't really like the taste very much but she had to admit she always felt loosened up after drinking some. It helped her with the stress of her job, being a Fairy Tail mage. She wriggled her toes to try and get the blood pumping into them and tried to recall the events of last night, if anything embarrassing had happened she wanted to be prepared. She remembered dancing, singing, talking, nothing out of the ordinary. She decided she was probably in the clear so swung her legs over the side of the bed in order to get up.

It was only at this point that she noticed the other person in the room. Curled up on her floor, looking as fierce as always, was her flame brain partner. Natsu's salmon hair was even wilder than usual and clumps of it stuck to his head. She giggled to herself as she watched him scratch his nose in his sleep before turning over. She doubted it was very comfortable on the floor, nor particularly warm, though Natsu seemed pretty resilient to the cold. She careful picked up her duvet and placed it on top of the dragon slayer whom instantly disappeared within it's folds. Lucy found herself blushing ferociously as she realised how cute Natsu looked all curled up on the floor. She quickly found herself a change of clothes and rushed into the shower before he woke up. Usually she would have been upset to see an uninvited guest in her house though she was so used to it. These days as long as she wasn't in the middle of something important, writing or changing, she really didn't mind all too much. She wouldn't let Natsu know that, doing so was like feeding a stray dog, he would only be there more often.

The shower was warm, verging on hot, and it felt good to have the water clean away the stickiness left over from the events of the night before. She quickly wiped herself down, scrubbing extra hard to make sure there was no residual dirt, she wanted to look clean, after all she had an image to maintain. She washed her hair and stood under the warm water until her body felt numb, she could feel her head stabilising and realised that she must not have drunk as much as she had initially thought. The day wouldn't be especially difficult to get through after all. She must have been in the shower for a good thirty minutes before she stepped back into her room, refreshed and smelling clean as a daisy. A delicious smell was wafting in through the window, she guessed one of her neighbours must be enjoying a lovely cooked breakfast. It was only then that she realised how hungry she was, her stomach let out a low roar and she could feel it churning inside her. She was about to head towards her kitchen when it suddenly clicked. Wasn't there a boy sleeping on her carpet last time she looked?

Panic began to set in as Lucy put two and two together, Natsu was in her kitchen. That meant that all her food, and she literally meant all her food, was now likely forfeit to the immense vat that was her partner. She shrieked in terror as she ran from her room as fast as she could, it wasn't just the fact that Natsu ate like a starving Snorlax, it was the fact he ate all his food a flame that worried her. Natsu was renowned for burning everything he touched, and that included her entire house. The mental picture of all her worldly belongings being caught in a fiery inferno crossed her mind. She could see the embarrassed dragon slayer smiling at her and comforting her. She could even see him offering her his house in return, why the heck would she want his place? She sped up and vaulted through the open doorway which led to her kitchen.

She had to admit she wasn't expecting what she saw. Her imagination had once again gotten the better of her. Natsu sat at the table face in a small pile of food, much of which was covering his face, whilst Taro stood happily at the stove wearing Lucy's pink floral apron. As she walked in the boys looked up at her and Taro brought over a plate of food, bacon, sausages, you name it, you could barely expect this kind of service at a hotel, let along in her own house. Lucy was so taken aback that she forgot to be angry for the intrusion. She simply picked up a fork and started eating, no questions asked. It was good, oh heck it was good, the food was divine. It wasn't so much the cooking, which was by no means shabby, but rather the fact that Lucy had been famished to the point anything would taste good. It just so happened that this was much better than what she would normally eat for breakfast, if she even ate one. Lucy gobbled down the food almost as quickly as Natsu and found herself sitting back, content in her fullness. She turned to Taro and smiled.

"Thanks."

The dark haired boy simply waved her off and muttered something about it being Natsu's idea. Lucy turned to Natsu, an inquisitive look on her face. Natsu simply shrugged, half a sausage hanging out of his mouth.

"I thought it would be nice."

Lucy felt her heart skip a beat, it was so romantic for Natsu to consider her feelings for once, though in fairness the boy always looked out for her, he just sometimes didn't know what she needed. The fact that Natsu had recruited someone who could actually cook to help him out actually made Lucy even happier, mainly due to the fact that it didn't endanger her in anyway. Taro finally sat down at the table with a plate for himself and slowly consumed his own breakfast. Once they had finished the three friends found themselves in conversation about Fantasia.

It turned out Taro didn't really fully understand what exactly Fantasia was. After all, he'd only been young when the last fantasia had taken place. It seemed odd to Lucy that although Taro was now the same age as her, before she'd lost 7 years he would have much her junior. Lucy and Natsu explained to him how Fantasia was all about celebrating the harvest festival with the town by showing off their magic for the crowds. They explained how each Fairy Tail member was entitled to, though not forced, their very own float for the procession. Taro nodded slowly and smiled.

"So why don't the three of us have a float together?"

The question was simple and Lucy found herself smiling and nodding in agreement. She looked over to Natsu who mirrored her actions almost identically. Just like that the three had teamed up. It only then occurred to Lucy that although she knew Natsu inside and out, Taro was still largely a mystery to her, she felt like it was time they learnt a little more about the boy. Firstly she wanted to know exactly what his magic was, although she'd seen glimpses of it over the previous day she still didn't really have a clue. She also wanted to know why the boy had joined the guild. It wasn't like she was suspicious or anything but by the sounds of it Fairy Tail had really been the lowest of the low during the absence of it's core. Why anyone would think about joining the guild was beyond her, let alone someone of Taro's strength. To top that all off the guild had been tricked before, Mest, aka Doranbolt had infiltrated the guild at one point, it occurred to Lucy that something like that could easily happen again.

She posed the questions to him as subtly as she could, trying to make sure any sense of suspicion was kept out of her voice. She wanted to believe everything that Taro stood for was true, he'd joined the guild during her absence and was simply that strong. As long as he had a good story she would be happy. It surprised Lucy therefore when Taro raised an eyebrow at her and instantly accused her of thinking him a fraud. It turned out that Makarov had thought along the same lines when they'd been introduced the day before. Taro had clearly passed those trials and so Lucy felt a little shame at being so coy towards her new friend.

"I heard all about Mest and what the council did." Taro's voice was steady as his gaze wandered towards the ceiling. "What the council did was wrong."

Lucy nodded in agreement, she felt so embarrassed, if only she could take it all back.

"I'll explain," Taro said finally and shifted to a more comfortable position in his chair, clearly this was going to be a long story.

"Hundreds of years ago my village was attacked. It wasn't by a huge hoard of brutish bandits or power mages. It was attacked by the forest around it. You see, our community, my village, specialise in a kind of natural magic, magic which is both sustainable to us as it is to the Earth. It's basically all about moving energy from ourselves into the surrounding wildlife. It's great for healing, in fact many of the worlds greatest healers use a variation on our magic. Anyway, whom ever was in charge of the village at the time had somehow given the forest too much energy, too much sustainability, it sort of started getting out of control, almost like the trees were alive. People would be struck down for even attempting to leave the confined walls of the settlement, it was like the wildlife around us was raising us like cattle for the slaughter. People were dying, slowly and painfully from magical exhaustion, somehow they'd lost control of the balance of flow, which makes the magic so sustainable. The wildlife around the village was sucking all the energy out of people. The leader at the time appealed to the guilds for help but nobody could find a way to stop it. Fast forward a 100 years or so and a man brave enough to journey into our forest came to our village with the request in hand. His name, was Guildarts Clive."

Taro paused for a second to look at the two Fairy Tail mages whom were listening intently to his tale. At the mention of Guildarts name he had noted the reaction from the individual mages, Natsu's eyes had lit up, a steely determination replacing his wondrous expression. Lucy had simply perked up. He decided to continue.

"He was amazing, he really was. He battled back the forest tried everything he could, he tried to find some kind of heart, something that was sapping the magical power away from the village but it was impossible. It didn't exist, the forest was simply using our power to grow larger and larger, like a fungus on the face of the world. In 100 years the forest had been kept under control by limiting the number of people with magical powers, if we hadn't taken precautions Fiore could now be entirely forest. Only a select few were passed the secrets of our art each generation, that way the forest couldn't feed off our community. Those who were granted the knowledge of the magic never lived long, the life expectancy of the magic users was about 20 years. You see the forest didn't want to kill us, it was like a parasite, it needed us to live. It would drain us slowly and carefully and squeeze as much out of us as it could until we dropped dead. The forest must have somehow sensed that there was a greater magical power in the woods than my own since it seemed to detach itself from draining me and began to work on Guildarts. He was resilient for a time, though he soon felt the effects."

Taro feel silent for a second, he took a breath, a deep one before continuing.

"That's when it came. The shadow that blotted out the entire sky, a demon of earth and heaven, Acnologia."

Lucy and Natsu both flinched at the name, the creature was the reason for their time loss. It was the reason for making their friends suffer and that included Taro.

"He was on us so fast and despite the fact Guildarts had lost so much magical energy he refused to back down, he stood up to the beast until his body was in ruins. He lost an arm, and most of a leg fighting that thing, it was horrible. He was a bloody mess by the end of it but he was lucky he was in the place that he was, after all our magic is all about healing. Anyway, Acnologia drew the forests attention, obviously a magical vessel of it's magnitude is going to draw attention. I don't think Acnologia was particularly fond of of having it's magic stolen so it destroyed everything, the entire forest in one breath. We would have been destroyed us too but Guildarts and my teacher somehow prevented the magic from hitting the village. They saved us all but it cost the life of my teacher. I was the only one who knew how to use magic in the village so I nursed Guildarts back from the brink of death, it was hard since I hadn't exactly finished learning everything there is to know when I was 11, it took months but eventually he left us to go back to his family. You guys; Fairy Tail."


	7. Impending Doom

**A/N: Thank you, I know I say it every chapter but I mean it every time! Things are beginning to turn now. Can you sense the impending doom? Well it's actually not gonna be for a while but this is going to be important, so pay attention okay :)**

Lucy and Natsu stared at Taro in utter silence. Neither of them dared say a word, dared even breathe. It was amazing how small the world was, how amazing the world was. When Guildarts had returned from his 100 year mission, the first time Lucy had met the man, he had been in taters and now they knew why. It was just as dramatic as one might expect of the man who stood at the top of the guild of Fairy Tail. Lucy found herself shaking, her encounter with Acnologia had been the most terrifying thing she had ever experienced. To think that Taro had felt the same emotions several years before her, and now bared the scars those emotions cost, it was hard to comprehend how he had remained so strong. How he had grown so strong. Admiration for the boy swelled up inside Lucy, she'd had a blessed childhood in many ways, after all her family had all the money in the world, not that she ever saw any of it. However, Taro's story wasn't quite over yet.

"The village may have been saved and our curse finally lifted but our village would never be the same again. The general feeling was that magic was evil, that magic caused all of them to suffer, that Acnologia was another form of the demon that haunted them. They cast Guildarts out as soon as he could walk, and..."

For the first time Taro faltered slightly, Lucy could tell it hurt the boy to talk about his past so openly, she could also guess as to what he was about to say next.

"For a time I thought everything would be okay. I begrudgingly watched Guildarts leave but slowly I became outcast from my own people, they saw me as little more than a monster. They'd lost all faith in magic, they just wanted to be left in peace, so, so I gave them that peace."

Lucy felt her heart flutter in despair, it was even worse than she had expected, Taro had been alone for so long. It impressed Lucy that such a boy could even sit in front of her now, how scared he must have been, alone in the wilderness for years. She felt tears welling up in her eyes and tried her best to conceal them.

"I had plenty of time to myself after that." Taro was determined to finish though his voice had become shaky in it's own right, "I practised the magic I knew, which was only the basics and developed my own way of using it, a way that allowed me to fight using it. For a time I travelled the country, helping out where I could, but I always had a hole in my heart that needed filling. So I thought I'd located the only man I knew from the outside world, that's why I joined Fairy Tail."

As the final words left Taro's mouth Lucy threw her arms around the dark haired boy sobbing words of apology into his chest, tears rolled down her checks in long elongated streams. Lucy had always been good at connecting with peoples emotions, she could feel his pain even if Taro refused to show it. She felt so much closer the Taro now that he'd shared with her his past, he truly was a new friend. Natsu shifted next to her and even without looking she could tell Natsu felt the same way. It took Lucy a while to regain her composure and she wiped her eyes as she smiled up at the two boys who were watching her with worried expressions.

"Your amazing" Lucy whispered and she caught Taro's smile out of the corner of her blurry eyes.

"Thanks Lucy, Natsu," his voice no longer trembled as he spoke but was smooth and calm, as per usual, "But it's all in the past. From that day until the end of days Fairy Tail will be my family."

The words almost brought tears back to Lucy's eyes again, it was so similar to her own situation, losing both her parents and filing the hole with the guild, she could so easily relate, then again so could Natsu. She looked over to the dragon slayer who had a steely gaze in his eyes, he didn't look at her immediately but she could tell he felt the pain of the past too. A silence crept over the 3 of them until Taro finally broke the silence, a few minutes later.

"By the way, Natsu, where's Happy?"

The question seemed so normal, as if the story that had been told moments ago had never been told at all, it was just what Lucy needed to finally snap herself out of her thoughts. She looked at the dragon slayer who shrugged and muttered something about him staying at the guild. Lucy noted it was strange for the two of them to be split up, especially for so long, but then again, even best friends needed their space. Lucy offered her shower to the two of them which they gratefully excepted, it was another hour before the three of them locked her home behind them and set off for the guild building.

The guild building loomed ominously above them, or rather it would have if there wasn't a great big gaping hole in the side of it. The three mages stood and stared in disbelief, had that happened during the party? None of them could remember. It was at that moment that Erza came marching out of the building to greet them, she was smiling, so it was unlikely to have been Natsu's fault. Lucy found herself sighing in relief, Natsu wouldn't be dying today then, she still had tomorrow to spend with him. For some reason the thoughts made Lucy happy, so very happy.

Natsu pointed to the hole and was about to pose a question to the red head which Lucy was dying to know the answer to when the culprit of the damage stepped straight out of the gap as if it had been made for him. In fact it was likely that it had been made for him. Guildarts Clive scratched his head as he looked up at the damage he had caused whilst daydreaming his way back to the guild. The entire town of Magnolia had been built in order to accommodate the man, after all he had a horrible habit of walking in a straight line, even if that meant going thorough anything in his way. If Cana had been there Lucy would have bet on the reason for the damage.

Natsu who had caught the scent of the man he most aspired to defeat launched quickly into action, letting fire engulf his body as he threw his fist in Guildarts direction. Guildarts simply turned to see the dragon slayer coming and counter attacked with a swift elbow to the face. Natsu was stunned but not downed, something that was incredibly rare in this kind of fight. Lucy smiled as she realised that Natsu's strength was beginning to catch up with the other mages, it was about time Natsu started seeing some rewards, he deserved it. Still he was no match for Guildarts who finished the raging teenager off with a fist to the top of the head causing Natsu to crash to the ground.

Guildarts smiled to Natsu as he picked him up off the floor, Natsu and Guildarts had always been close. Guildarts was almost like a father to Natsu, after all Guildarts was the one Natsu had always looked up to the most. It was touching to see but it caused Lucy a pang of pain, she would never see her father again. She glanced over to her left to see Taro staring at the man a smile printed over his features. Lucy found herself beginning to smile too, what a strange reunion this must be for him. He slowly made his way up the steps, ignoring Erza completely, and towards the couple.

As he approached Guildarts turned to look at him, his expression gave nothing away. Lucy found herself holding her breathe, it would break her heart if Guildarts didn't recognise the boy in front of him. She watched as Guildarts face contorted, at first his look was confused, followed by pensive and finally shocked, Guildarts mouth hung open and bobbed up and down as if he was trying to say something but just couldn't find the words to say. In the end all he managed was a soft, quiet as a whisper, "you..."

Lucy released the breath she was holding, Guildarts did recognise Taro, she was glad. Taro smiled but only nodded and beckoned the mage to follow him to a table. Guildarts muttered to himself before following Taro inside, she was surprised to see Guildarts so shocked but she was happy at the same time. She helped her partner, who was still considerably out of it from the blow to his head to a table and was joined by a rather irritated Erza.

Lucy quickly apologised to the mage by grabbing her a piece of strawberry cake, a dirty little secret that could easily cool Titania's anger. The bribe worked it's wonders as Erza eyes lit up. Lucy giggled triumphantly to herself. When Erza had finished the slice of cake Natsu was finally alert again, Lucy thought it was about the right time to find out what the mage had wanted. She queried the scarlet beauty whom began to explain what exactly she had wanted.

"As you know the master wants this Fantasia to be the best one ever, he wants to put on a proper show, one that will get the council on his side." The red head paused as she shuffled in her seat, "hence why he is back." She nodded in the direction of Guildarts who was deep in conversation with Taro, both of whom were laughing, Lucy felt so happy for them. She turned back to Erza who suddenly had a very serious expression on her face.

"However after what Laxus did last time it seems the people are expecting more of a spectacle so Master has officially announced a competition to determine the strongest mage in Fairy Tail, for the public's enjoyment." Even if Lucy didn't know who was sitting next to her she would have expected the reaction the words got out of Natsu who suddenly jumped into life, flames surrounding his entire body. He looked like a demon and Lucy found herself cowering in fear, despite the fact she knew Natsu would never hurt her. Erza gave him a sad smile, "Unfortunately the competition is only open for S-Class mages."

Natsu instantly deflated, Lucy almost felt sorry for him. Erza ignored him and continued on, "However, each s-class mage is allowed one subordinate for the game." The way Erza said it sent shivers down Lucy's spine, 'subordinate' was such a demeaning word. "I was wondering if you would be mine, Lucy."

Lucy was quite frankly shocked, why would Erza ever think to ask her ahead of Natsu, ahead of anyone else for the matter. She wasn't strong, Lucy most definitely wasn't strong and although she prided herself on the strength of her mind, she lost out to Levy in that department.

"Me?" Lucy breathed, the sound that came out was barely more than a whisper but Erza nodded and tilted her head to the side, clearly expecting an answer.

"Errr, Im flattered and all but wouldn't Natsu or Grey be a better choice." Lucy could barely hide the fear in her voice, she could imagine herself having to go up against monsters like Laxus and Guildarts, she'd be a bloody pulp if she was dragged into this. To Lucy's horror Erza was shaking her head.

"No, I want you for this one." It was all the girl needed to say, Lucy felt like her whole world was crashing in around her, she knew there was no way she could say no now that Erza had spoken her mind, she simply nodded much to Erza's approval. Lucy watched as the red head walked away and sighed turning to Natsu for some kind of console. She shouldn't have been surprised to see the dragon slayer glaring at her as if she'd shot him through the heart, why was it always one step forward and two steps back with him? She sighed and buried her head in her hands, she was going to die before they could cash in that 2 million jewel mission she had picked out. How tragic her life was. She could still feel Natsu's burning resentment next to her which only caused her to feel more depressed. Finally she plucked up the courage to speak again, her throat felt dry from worry.

"You know you could always just ask Taro."

She wasn't sure why the thought had sprung to mind but it's effect was instantaneous. Natsu jumped up and rocketed over to the table where Taro and Guildarts were catching up. Lucy slowly got to her feet and followed him before he hurt anyone. It occurred to her that having Natsu as competition was probably safer for her than anyone else since he wouldn't hurt her, she knew that all too well. Natsu jumped up on the table and roared at Taro, flames flickering around his mouth.

"Bastard why didn't you ask me to be your subordinate?"

The guild instantly burst into rounds of laughter at the words of Natsu. Everybody knew that the mage was highly strung but he would never willingly admit to being below someone. Lucy watched Natsu's face grow red as he growled at everyone. Taro stood up and motioned Natsu to come closer.

"What are you talking about Natsu?" the boy asked.

"Erza was saying there was some kind of strength competition to decided Fairy Tail's strongest!"

Natsu didn't hold anything back and his voice echoed around the room. Lucy knew this was going to be bad. Suddenly the entire guild was bustling towards them trying to get details about the contest. It was hard to believe they all cared so much. Lucy found herself squashed between the table and Elfman who was cheering at the top of his voice about being a man. Someone decided the rabble had been going on long enough, a large thud was heard and suddenly the entire guild was frozen in place. An angry Makarov stood on the balcony his fist extended to the size a giant.

"This is exactly why I only told the people involved." He roared causing the entire guild to fall quieter than a mouse. He went on to explain how he had a conversation with all the S-Class mages of the guild the night before about the competition and how it was all really just a show to appease the crowds. He then mentioned that each mage was allowed to take one non s-class mage into the arena with them. Lucy would have felt content with that but the old man must have been getting lax in his old age because he then said, with a smirk clearly printed over his face, that there were still 3 unclaimed places. The guild which had been quiet for the longest period in it's existence was instantly back to square one, shouting bustling, fighting. Each and every person trying to find the 3 S-Class mages yet to claim their partner. Lucy could barely contain the pain she was feeling inside, her life was over, she knew it, she was going to die on the night of Fantasia. She would be dead within a week.


	8. Shifting Perspective

**A/N: So this chapter is a bit fillery but the interactions between the characters is important. Especially between Taro and our favorite couple. So bare with me please :3 Thanks for continuing to read!**

Lucy's head felt like it was going to explode. She hadn't had much sleep the last few days due to her incessant imagination which had come up with numerous ways she could meet her end later that week. It was a strange mixture of emotions for Lucy, she was excited for the Fantasia parade, but she was also scared stiff of the day marked on her calendar. It had been hard going for her ever since the guild had announced the contest, she just felt like curling up in a ball on the ground and staying there. It was no wonder her head was aching so much really, if nothing else she was exceptionally tired. She'd even tried to write a will hoping it would calm her nerves but all it did was make her more upset, she had quickly disposed of the evidence there after. She took a glimpse of herself in the mirror, a glass of water in one hand and a few aspirin pills in the other. Perhaps Wendy could do her a better job than the drugs could but she didn't really feel like leaving for the guild, or doing anything for that matter. The girl in the mirror that looked back at her looked more dead than alive, she had huge dark patches under her eyes and her skin had began to flask around her lips where it was drying out. Lucy didn't even flinch at her reflection, it was a perfect representation of how she felt inside. Soon her head was starting to calm down, it no longer burned like an inferno but rather just a simple flame. A knock on the door knocked her out of her misery. A visitor? Lucy let out a low groan, why did people decide to interrupt her when she felt like this? She quickly considered the fact that it may be Natsu though it seemed unlikely as her preferred to let himself in. Natsu had visited each day and each time Lucy had told him the same thing, 'I'm not coming out'. She felt bad for the dragon slayer, she enjoyed his company more than anyone else in the world though she couldn't even bare to tell him why she was upset. Maybe they never would be more than friends, the thought saddened her greatly. The knocking on the door hadn't stopped, Lucy realised that who ever it was probably wasn't going anywhere until she opened the door. She prayed it wasn't someone like Erza who would forcefully drag her all the way to the guild. With a heavy sigh Lucy made the journey to the door.

Standing outside was a dark haired boy wearing a pair of orange shorts and a grey t-shirt. Lucy looked at Taro refusing to hide the annoyance on her face, the boy seemed unaffected.

"If you've come to drag me to the guild I'm not coming." Lucy's tone was somewhat nasty, she didn't want to offend the boy but she wanted him to leave. Taro simply coked his head to the side and smiled.

"Nah, I just wanna talk." Taro's sincerity surprise Lucy, not many people in the guild would 'just talk'. Still she found herself being pushed aside as the boy entered her house closing the door behind him as he completely ignored her protests. He wiped his shoes on the doormat and then took them off placing them to the side. He clearly didn't intend to go anywhere. When he'd finished, he finally turned to look at her.

"Look, I've got a terrible migraine and I've barely spelt." Lucy was still trying to sound as irritated as possible but she had to admit having someone to talk to would be nice. Taro responded by placing a hand on her forehead.

"I can help with that." The words barely left his mouth before Lucy felt a strange tingling, it felt like Taro's fingers were reaching into her head and removing all the pain. It was strange, not bad by any means but nothing like anything she'd felt before. She suddenly felt rejuvenated, it was like a more potent version of Wendy's magic arts. When Taro removed his hand from her head moments later Lucy felt as though she had slept for a thousand years, her head ache was completely cleared, it was as if the dark storm clouds in her mind had been removed.

"Whh... What did you do?"

"Energy manipulation," Taro stated as if it were obvious, "It's my magic, I told you. 3 days ago remember?"

Lucy shook her head and ushered the boy into the dining room, he gratefully followed. Not a word was spoken until the two of them had found a seat at the table. Lucy caught her reflection in the mirror and was happy to see the bags under her eyes were gone, in fact her skin looked better than ever she was practically glowing. Despite herself Lucy found herself beaming. She turned to Taro, ready to give him her full attention.

"Natsu's been going on about you for days." It really didn't surprise Lucy to hear that, she knew how clingy her partner could be. "I told him you probably wanted some alone time but he insisted I come see you since he couldn't get through to you. So since I'm here, lets talk." Taro smiled to her knowingly, Lucy actually felt satisfied with his reasoning, maybe if she really did only have days to live she should be enjoying them. She let out a sigh.

"I've just been worried about things." Taro raised an eyebrow and mouthed the word 'things' mockingly.

"Fantasia or love?" It was a strange question and although Lucy fought back the urge to bite she had to admit she wasn't prepared for it. She shrugged.

"Both, maybe" She blushed as she admitted it, she hadn't really thought about it but her feelings for someone were stronger now than ever. Taro laughed.

"Don't fret Lucy, I'll help you." Taro was beaming at her and Lucy felt so calm around him, it was nice, they may have only known each other a short time but her heart had easily accepted her new friend. "Besides Natsu isn't going anywhere."

The blush on Lucy's face told the whole story and Taro almost fell off his chair laughing. For whatever reason Lucy didn't feel the need to defend herself.

"Well, what's the problem with Fantasia?"

"What isn't the problem, I have to fight all you monsters, I'm gonna be crushed, I'll spend the rest of the year in a hospital bed, or worse the morgue." At the statement Taro looked at her curiously.

"I think you have the wrong idea." Lucy pricked up at the revelation. "It's not exactly just a battle free-for-all, the entire town would be flattened. It's literally more of a show for the crowds than anything."

Lucy felt stupid, it made perfect sense, the master would never have wanted such devastation to occur on the small town of Magnolia, she let out a little giggle in relief. Taro simply smiled at her.

"If your worried that your weak, don't be. Just have confidence in yourself, and in your friends... and if all else fails I'll teach you some magic." Lucy wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye, she felt like a huge weight had been lifted.

"Thank you," was all she could manage as a huge crash resounded from her bedroom. Taro grinned mischievously.

"Looks like someone couldn't wait to see you."

Natsu walked into the dining room right on cue, a guilty smile plastered over his features. He muttered an apology but Lucy knew he just wanted to be sure she was okay. It made her heart beat faster to think he would worry about her so. Instead of words she stood up and gave him a rough hug, a way of apology that even Natsu could understand. He beamed out at her, happy to have his friend back. Happy floated in behind him and Lucy realised she hadn't seen the exceed in far too long, she gave the cat a cheeky smile and he responded by throwing himself into her chest. She was such a whiny bitch, she'd thrown a strop for several days and risked alienating the people most important to her, she felt so guilty, so stupid. All seemed forgiven though and the four of them sat down to plan their fantasia float for the parade.

By the day of the festival, Lucy had made her peace with all the guild members and she was excited for the night like never before. The contest of strength was planned to happen before the parade and the winner of the contest would be crowned during the procession. Lucy still didn't entirely know what exactly the contest consisted of, in fact it appeared only the master held that information but she wasn't scared any more, she wasn't excited, but she had inally grown some balls, metaphorically.

She spent the day talking with Levy and Cana, enjoying hearing about what the girls were planning for the parade later on. She was impressed by the level of detail and consideration both girls had put into their routines. It seemed everyone in the guild loved Fantasia, loved the opportunity to perform. As the morning shifted to afternoon Lucy was dragged away by Erza and given a sweet purple T-shirt to wear. Lucy begrudgingly put the clothing on and followed her 'leader' down to the town square.

The town square of Magnolia was picture perfect. Exactly what you would imagine it to look like in a story book. A fountain, about 5 metres tall stood in the centre, laden with ornate designs which arced their way around the structure in smooth spirals. At the top a beautifully sculpted lion sat, mouth agape with water dripping from its fangs. Around the fountain were rows of market stalls where the traders went about their daily business, today the stalls were left abandoned, the cloth shutters pull down hard over them. Row upon row of seating had replaced them, to an extent, allowing what seemed like the entire town of Magnolia to squeeze into the confined space.

Lucy felt a warmth next to her and turned to see her favourite dragon slayer smiling by her side. She was happy to see him despite the fact they would be in direct competition in a few moments time. Lucy knew the pairings by now, they seemed somewhat strung together but she blamed that on the fact that the competition had been announced in such a strange way. It seemed the noisiest guildmates had been heard the loudest, unsurprisingly, and were the ones competing. It was close to the time they were told to meet and she could see the other S-Class mages making their way toward her position. She could clearly identify each of the 5 sporting a different colour of T-shirt each, Erza, Guildarts, Mirajane, Laxus and Taro. It felt so surreal to be standing with them, in a way she felt honoured.

When the 5 S-Class mages had gathered, along with their chosen partners everything seemed to change. The entire square began to shake and the buildings around it started to peel away, the motion so similar to the defence mechanism that the city implied just for Guildarts. The square began to sink down and Lucy almost lost her balance, had it not been for the strong arm that grabbed her she surely would have. When the motion finally stopped the 10 Fairy Tail mages were buried about 20 metres below the ground, surround on all sides by a fortress of seating, It was like the entire town had been designed with this 'arena' in mind. Lucy would never have expected it but it didn't feel as though the place was new, rather that the ring had been there since the city's invention.

Slowly a platform descended through the air carrying a small, balding old man. Makarov smiled to his 'children' as he took up the microphone and began to talk to the audience. Lucy was too lost in the wonder of the moment to pay attention to what exactly he was saying. Fairy Tail had pulled out all the stops to make this a spectacle everyone would remember. It was typical of the guild to go overboard and this was literally the definition. She felt herself being tugged to the side by Erza and Lucy realised that in a matter of minutes the competition would begin. Although Lucy was still scared she felt a childish grin grip her features, a grin that she had picked up from her best friend, maybe just this once, she was fired up.


	9. Grey Team

**A/N; Hi everyone. Thanks for sticking with me. This chapter was intended to be longer but when I realized how long it was I decided it would be best to split it! **

The roar of the crowd was exactly what Natsu wanted to hear, the cheers ignited the fire within him. He had always been loud and aggressive, a show man through and through. During the Grand Magic Games he'd been somewhat starved of the feeling, until he'd taken out Sabertooth's dragon's anyway, and even then it had been short lived. He hadn't competed on the final day because he had wanted to save Lucy, he couldn't except her being away from him for long. Maybe it was a sickness but he felt almost possessive of her. Natsu was wearing a grey T-shirt and standing alongside Taro who had 'selected' Natsu as his partner. Natsu sniggered to himself, he was so excited to be going up against the people he aspired to most in the guild. His eyes were firmly set on defeating Guildarts but he wouldn't mind giving Laxus another beating, if he could. There was Erza too, Natsu licked his lips, the anticipation was killing him. The five pairs had been sent to stand in separate corners of the arena, which conveniently enough was in the shape of a pentagon. Each team had a colour; he and Taro wore Grey; Lucy and Erza were in purple; Mirajane and Elfman were in black; Laxus and Gajeel in orange; and Guildarts and Grey in blue. Even to Natsu it was obvious which of the teams had been selected by the s-class and which of the teams had been forcefully encroached upon. Master had said there were 3 spaces open and Grey, Gajeel and himself had made their intentions to compete all too clear. The three male s-class mages had really had very little choice in the matter, it occurred to Natsu that it was typical for the females to be the better prepared, perhaps that thought was a betrayal to his gender. His eyes fluttered over to the purple corner and met his blonde haired teammate's, she smiled at him nervously. Lucy being in the competition added an extra dimension to the game for Natsu, he wouldn't forgive anyone who attempted to hurt her, he had already briefed Taro on his intentions and the boy had simply laughed him off. Natsu tried to tune into what Makarov was saying on the microphone but his mind kept wandering, it was only when Levy's voice began to echo around the arena that Natsu forced himself to listen.

"To be an S-Class mage in Fairy Tail you need to have many things," Levy's voiced sounded wonderful over the microphone, she spoke with such authority that the roaring crowd settled down to a low hum whilst maintaining a sweet and youthful presence."Tonight we will be show casing those 'things' to determine who is the strongest mage in Fairy Tail!"

At her words the crowd erupted into screams of excitement, Natsu could make out his name being chanted, though his support was no in the same league as most of the others. Natsu was so ready for this. Once the crowd settled down Levy continued.

"In order to be S-Class in our guild you must be strong, brave and loyal. However even those whom possess all of these traits aren't always ready to take the plunge. The first part to being a great S-Class mage is judgement. Judgement to know when to fight, and when to run. The Judgement to know when we are right, and when we are wrong. This is the first quality of an S-Class mage."

Natsu was confused at what exactly Levy was saying, as far as he was concerned this was a contest of strength, what did 'judgement' have to do with anything? Levy continued.

"The first test of judgement has already been taken. Each mage has selected a partner whom they trust. The first competition will test the S-Class mages judgement, by testing the will of their chosen partner!"

The crowd was still roaring but Natsu felt Taro sigh beside him. He gave the boy a quick one over, Taro turned to him and smiled, before pushing the dragon slayer out into the arena. Natsu was quickly joined by his guildmates. As the five of them stood, isolated in the centre of the vast space underground, 5 large baskets erected themselves from the ground behind them. Natsu turned to look at Taro who simply shrugged at him and nodded towards the speakers from which Levy's voice was still booming.

"The first game is very simple. The 5 mages, representing their S-class mages, will compete head to head to collect as many of the spherical balls that will appear on the ground. Each ball placed in your basket will award you one point. The person with the most points at the end is the winner. However, this is a Fairy Tail game so all magic is permitted, anyone who is knocked out will lose 100 points!"

The crowd was going wild as Levy announced that the game would be over when the 10 minute time limit had been reached. With all that said she joined the crowd in counting down, 5...4...3...2...1.

In an instant Natsu sprung into action, he had barely paid attention to Levy and really only cared about one thing, beating the snot out of Grey and Gajeel. He let fire engulf his hand and landed a heavy burning fist into the side of Grey's unexpecting head. The ice mage melted away at his touch and Natsu realised he had been tricked, an after-image made of ice! Suddenly he felt a chill at his side and quickly launched himself into the air in order to dodge a spear that had been aimed where he stood only moments before. In the air Natsu was defenceless and Gajeel was suddenly upon him. Natsu cried out as a fist of iron belted him in the back sending him tumbling towards the ground. Elfman was currently attacking Grey and Natsu was thankful that it meant he only had one man to deal with. He rebounded off the floor letting his flames accelerate him upwards as he landed a strong blazing fist against the iron dragon slayers chest. The crowd was screaming in excitement, Natsu could feel his blood boiling, he had never felt so alive.

Lucy stood watching the ordeal as the men decided to fight amongst themselves, leaving her completely alone. Maybe she should have expected differently but in reality she wasn't surprised by it in the least. She quickly set herself to work, picking up the balls and placing them in the basket behind her. She almost felt like laughing at how easy it was, though she felt that making any sound may attract unwanted attention.

Natsu was breathing heavily, he'd taken a good few punches to the face and given a good few out as well. He stared at the four men in front of him trying to judge who was the worst for wear. Grey had a large unruly swelling above his left eye where he had been clobbered by Gajeel's iron fist. Gajeel on the other hand was bleeding from a gash on his chest, his skin had blackened where Natsu's fire had burnt him. Between the two it was hard to decide who looked the more ridiculous. Elfman was the odd one out, compared to the others he had taken very little damage. It occurred to Natsu that they had chosen to ignore him simply because them rated the others above him in terms of strength. Natsu took a deep breath channelling the lightning within him. He grinned at his opponents knowing he suddenly had the power to finish them. He drew back and let out a roar with as much power behind it as he could muster. It was Gajeel who countered his attack with his own roar, a mixture of iron and shadow, Natsu cursed, it was something the man had learnt during the Grand Magic Games and it seemed to match Natsu's power. Natsu felt his legs begin to shake, he was running low on magical power already, luckily for him Gajeel looked even more worse for wear, after all Natsu had trained in the use of fusion dragon slayer arts longer than his iron counter part. It was Grey who made the next move attempting to pick the two off for their moment of weakness but mid attack he crashed to his knees under the weight of Elfman's counter. The four of them sat on the ground panting hard. It was at this point that Levy announced there were a mere ten seconds remaining. A look of panic spread across Grey's face, followed by Elfman, only Natsu seemed unaffected by the announcement. Natsu was about to call it a draw when Grey stood up and staggered over to his basket placing a blue sphere within it. The action seemed to spur the others two into action and they quickly scrambled towards the only sphere in sight, which happened to be at the feet of the person they had completely ignored for the last ten minutes.

Lucy looked down at them, a mixture of pity and glee spread across her face. She picked up the sphere looking at the three of them and tossed it towards her own basket, it landed in it with a little swish. With that the clackson sounded and the game was over. Natsu begrudgingly headed back towards the grey corner where Taro sat in hysterics, clutching his side. Neither of them said a word as the scores displayed themselves on the screen. Lucy had collected 50 of the spheres whilst the boys had been fighting. The contest really hadn't been a contest at all. Natsu was about to let out a moan when he noticed that somehow he had scored 5. He turned to question his partner who simply nodded towards Lucy who was beaming at him.

"Your lucky to have someone like her," Taro said sadly.

Natsu felt himself heating up, Lucy must have placed some of the orbs in his basket, he didn't know why exactly but he was grateful for her, he laughed to himself and muttered how it was exactly as planned. Taro just shook his head and chuckled.

Erza looked at Lucy trying to determine whether she should be disappointed or not, after all the girl had won the game, so what did it matter if she'd given some help to another team, she knew just how close Lucy and Natsu were and it wasn't her place to question their relationship. She decided it would be best to just be thankful. They looked up at the scores. The rankings looked pretty good, in Erza's mind at least; she sat at 10; Taro on 6; Guildarts on 3; and both Miragane and Laxus on 0. Erza wasn't such a fool to think that she could fight one on one with someone like Guildarts and expect to win but winning this competition was easily possible, she definitely intended to do so. Levy was back on the microphone, she sounded slightly disappointed with the way the previous game had played out but she refused to show it obviously.

"The second virtue of an S-Class mage is of course the need for great magical power. If you don't have the strength to protect yourself how can you be expected to protect your friends, or your family? The second competition will be a simple contest of strength."

At her words a crystal appeared from the ground it looked very familiar to all those in the guild and many in the crowd as well. It was the MPF, the magic power finder! Natsu recognised the apparatus instantly, after all he had witnessed Cana reach the max on the machine using Fairy Glitter. It occurred to him that if Cana could hit the max then shouldn't most S-Class mages be able to as well? He supposed it didn't matter either way, he was excited to see the outcome. Levy was still speaking;

"In turns each mage will have the opportunity to attack the device with any magic they deem fit. Only one attack will be allowed per mage and only the first attack will be recorded. This particular MPF has been modified so that the values will not be displayed until all 5 mages have had a turn."

The crowd was lively as always, it impressed Natsu that the people of Magnolia had so much energy. Though if he wasn't so beat up he knew he would be just as excited as the rest of them. He turned to Taro to give him encouragement but the boy was smiling and whispered under his breath that he would not lose. Natsu had to admit he hadn't taken to someone so quickly before, well bar Lucy, but he felt true admiration for his friend.

Mirajane was the first to take her turn. The poster girl waltzed calmly up to the MPF and waved to the crowd before changing directly into her Satan Soul form. It was clear to the guild that Mira was holding something back, she never really used her true power in front of others, perhaps she thought it would tarnish her image. Still the girl let out a terrifying howl and a black surge of energy shot towards the MPF causing the front rows to be thrown back into their seats. The MPF shook and beeeped, registering the results, Mira smiled, blew a kiss to the crowd and returned to her corner. Natsu felt his blood pumping even faster, Mira had been even more impressive than he had imagined.

Laxus was next. The tall blonde man strode into the centre and commanded such presence that the crowd instantly hushed. Natsu could see the concentration on Laxus's face, the entire world knew of the lighting man's power, after all he had defeated one of the 10 wizards saints. The anticipation in the room was almost visible. Laxus's attack ripped the ground around the MPF apart, a range of fissures running from himself to the target. The crowd in the front rows were more than just buffeted by the shock wave, some of them were literally flung into the back rows by the force of the impact. Natsu had never seen Laxus attack with such power, it was incredible, it made Natsu thankful they had made their peace.

Erza was third. The beautiful red reequip mage marched into the arena and commanded a similar presence to Laxus. The crowd knew Erza through her actions in the Grand Magic Games, she was a fan favourite, the people of Magnolia especially favoured the red head. Erza summoned a giant sword which she felt in two hands, it occurred to Natsu that Erza's magic wasn't the best for this kind of competition though if he knew Erza that wouldn't stop her. When she swung the giant sword down onto the crystal the fissures that Laxus had created widened and deepened. In fact the MPF sank a good few metres into the ground, a shock wave reverberating around the arena. The people in the front rows had learnt their lesson by now and were sheltering behind the walls as best they could. It made Natsu laugh to see the expressions on their faces, a mixture of excitement and fear.

By the time it was Taro's turn the MPF looked a little worn for wear. Taro walked into the arena nonchalantly, the crowd were a little less excited than for the previous three mages simply because nobody had really heard of the boy before. He hadn't competed in the magic games and few people had seen him around town. To the people he was a mystery, though in reality he was still a mystery to the guild. Natsu was excited to see what the boy could do. Taro walked into the centre and placed his hands firmly on the floor. Natsu watched in shock as the large cracks began to seal, the MPF rose out of the ground as it healed. It was similar to Ultear's arc of time but it felt different. It was as if Taro was channelling the energy into himself and giving new life the the land. It was amazing and Natsu could here the shocked gasps of the crowd clearly. Taro took a deep breath and stood, fist raised above his head, his hand began to glow, a pure white with raw energy, Natsu could tell. When Taro's fist collided with the MPF it was like an atomic bomb going off. A huge shock wave radiated in a line behind where his blow had made contact with the crystal, tearing the ground apart again. Natsu found his mouth hanging agape, Taro hadn't even hinted at this kind of power when they had fought each other. Had the boy really been holding back that much? Natsu expected this kind of brute strength from Laxus but Taro had never taken him to be the type, it was incredible.

By the time Guildarts made his way to the MPF the crowd had pretty much seen it all. They were ready for whatever the last man could throw at them, they were expecting great things and there was nobody greater in Fairy Tail to deliver. Guildarts thrust his hand forward letting his magic surround the MPF. The MPF shuddered at his hit before crumbling into pieces. The look on Guildarts face was the single funniest thing that Natsu had ever seen. The mage looked like he was ready to kick himself off the edge of the world. It had never occurred to him that his magic would leave the MPF in ruins. Most of Fairy Tail as well as the crowd were also in hysterics, bar the master who looked horrified, likely due to the fact he had 'borrowed' the device from the council.

When it came to announce the results Natsu was sure that Taro had done them proud. He expected to see Laxus at the top but he wouldn't have been surprised to see Taro near to him at least. He looked up at the screen and mentally recorded to numbers, trying to compare them to the results from the grand magic games: Mirajane – 6834 Laxus – 8683 Erza – 7153 Taro – 8683 Guildarts – 0

Natsu blinked but found himself smiling, Taro had matched Laxus. It was something he had always dreamed of and seeing it done, even by proxy was exciting. Natsu felt his heart beginning to race again. There was only one more part to this contest, and he very much intended to win it.


	10. The Trial of the Sand Witch

**A/N: So this chapter basically finishes off the last one. Hooray, its finally time to start the main event ;P Well no quite yet but we're getting there slowly.**

There was one last part to this competition and it was easy to assume it would involve both of the partners. Taro had to admit he felt pretty good, he'd been lucky with the last round, had he gone first his score would have been a whole different barrel of fish, the ability to go after the other three S-Class mages had meant that he could collect the residual energy left over from their attacks and use it. That had been his game plan from the moment Mirajane's name was called and he was pleased to see it had worked a treat. If he had to bet on the next round he would assume it would be something to do with teamwork, that seemed like a necessary attribute and something that would definitely require both he and Natsu to participate. He didn't have to wait long for his assumptions to be proven correct. Levy quickly announced that the last part would require the S-Class mages to show their leadership qualities. Each 'subordiate' would be blindfolded, and in Natsu and Gajeel's case have their noses plugged, whilst they would attempt to make a sandwich. The ingredients for which were spread out around the arena, hidden by obstacles that would be difficult to pass even with sight. The S-Class mages were to act as the eyes to the participants, directing them on where abouts to go and what to add to the sandwich. Levy was particularly happy to promote the fact that Team Shadow Gear's very own Droy would be the one to taste, and thus give the final verdict on which team was the winner. Taro smiled to himself as Natsu quickly had two of his senses removed, it was probably an advantage for Natsu to not be able to see what he was doing, after all, Natsu was a hideous cook.

The five mages made their way to the arena as best they could, it suddenly occurred to Taro that although they hadn't started yet Natsu was going to need help to get into the ready position, he quickly directed the dragon slayer who found his way to the starting line with relative ease. It gave Taro some confidence. Taro quickly observed the arena, the most obvious thing to go for was the bread, after all, what was a sandwich without bread, but Taro was devious enough to realise that 5 blind teenagers running for the bread at the same time would be a catastrophe. Instead he located the cheese and decided he would send Natsu there first. To Taro the simpler the sandwich the better, he was expecting a blind fire mage to craft it after all, however it was possible to use Natsu's powers to his advantage, there had been no mention of a restriction on magic. Taro quickly surveyed his competition, trying to mentally map what he would expect each mage to do. He wondered if any of them would decided to skip the bread and go back later, he shrugged it off, as long as they got some by the end it wouldn't be a problem. The round was limited to a 10 minutes. There was a slight pause as the crowd settled down in their seats again, those whom had sat in the front row shakily returned, not looking all too confident. It made Taro chuckle.

As soon as Levy gave the word Taro ordered Natsu to take three steps forward. Natsu did so without hesitation, it was nice to see the boy could listen if he wanted to. Taro made a mental note of how far the boy travelled, if he could picture Natsu's stride length it would enable him to more accurately direct the dragon slayer. Taro gave the order for Natsu to walk 10 paces forward, turn to the left and walk 5 more. Natsu moved as soon as the words left Taro's mouth walking quickly forward ten paces and turning on his heels... to face right. Taro almost slapped himself, did the boy really not know his lefts and rights, he shouted at Natsu to turn the other way to which the boy sheepishly rotated. Taro sighed, he was glad Natsu was competing with him, after all the two of them got on very well, but it would be nice if he was a little more competent at times. He directed Natsu under a beam of wood and across some hot coals so that the dragon slayer stood facing a pile of sliced cheese. When Natsu returned to Taro 3 minutes had passed. It was decision time for Taro, he had been right to assume that the other S-Class mages would go straight for the bread and the four helpless teenage participants were still trying to fumble their way through each other to get to it. It was a pretty funny sight and most of the crowd were in hysterics pointing and imitating the mages who were doing a fantastic job of looking like beached whales. Taro focused, what else would be good in a cheese sandwich and was easy to access. A plate of tomatoes was visible at the other side of the ring with little to no obstacle, he smiled to himself and commanded Natsu to the plate, the dragon slayer set off immediately. They had this in the bag.

Lucy wasn't sure which way was up any more, Erza had told her to grab the bread as quickly as possible but she had somehow fallen over along the way, likely due to the firm muscular bodies she found herself competing with. She had completely lost all sense of direction and was currently stretching her arms out hoping she would feel the soft texture. It wasn't helping that she could hear Erza screaming at her as if it was obvious where to go, she was blind for goodness sake! Had the girl forgotten. Lucy sighed, losing all hope in her partner she tried to listen to one of the others, since they were trying to direct their charges in the same direction. She heard Mirajane ordering Elfman to take five paces to his left. She assumed that every three steps of Elfman would be worth about 5 of hers and moved as Mirajane had said. Maybe it was dumb luck but she felt something soft under her fingers and squealed in delight when she realised it was bread. She tuned back in to Erza who was cheered louder than the crowd before ordering her back to the beginning. Surprisingly she made it back without a hitch. Erza gave Lucy some praise but informed her that it was no time to be resting. They needed another ingredient. Lucy found herself being ordered to walk a rather strange path but she followed without complaint, she could hear Mirajane still telling Elfman where the bread was and realised that they were at least ahead of someone.

Natsu returned with the tomatoes a triumphant look on his face. Taro smiled and let Natsu know that all they really needed was the bread now. Natsu nodded and was ready to follow the instructions Taro gave him. Taro refused to send Natsu to collect the bread yet, only Lucy had actually managed to find any and the three male mages were still falling over each other. Taro decided that he could add ham to the sandwich in the meantime. He instructed Natsu to head for the moist meat and let the boy get to work. He watched as Lucy moved towards the same place, a sudden 'evil' thought sprung to mind. As both Natsu and Lucy edged closer to each other and to their joint destination Taro told Natsu to stick his hand out. Natsu obliged like a well trained dog and thrust his hand out meeting something round and soft. Taro couldn't contain himself and burst into fits of laughter, he turned to see Erza's reaction, the mage had turned a bright red and looked incredibly embarrassed.

Natsu was confused as to what he was holding, this didn't feel like any ham he had ever tried before. He allowed his fingers to slowly squeeze the object in his hand and was surprised when he was struck by a palm across the face. Lucy wailed at him, calling him a pervert. Natsu didn't really understand what was going on but by the tone of Lucy's voice he had done something bad. He did what every man should do in a situation where a female had been angered, he begged forgiveness. He wasn't exactly sure if Lucy excepted it or not but she seemed to calm down at his apology. He quickly grabbed a slice of ham and moved back to Taro for an explanation.

Taro could barely contain himself, there were tears running down his cheeks and his side was burning. He had never felt like such a bastard and a genius at the same time. Watching Natsu grope Lucy had been the funniest thing he had witnessed in a while and the fact Lucy had taken a second to react made it all the funnier, maybe she enjoyed it! When Natsu approached him he did his best to play it cool but even he could tell he wasn't doing a good job. Natsu asked what had happened but instead of answering Taro commanded the boy to the now vacant bread pile. He took a second to view his opposition and was shocked to see how well the others had picked themselves up after the dreadful start. Still it made no difference, Natsu returned triumphant with the bread, the hard part done all they needed to do was stick the ingredients together. Bread, followed by cheese, ham, tomato and topped with bread. The sandwich looked good but it was missing something that would give it that winning edge. Taro asked Natsu to lightly toast the sandwich, he knew it was a risk but he assumed the boy could be trusted at this point. Natsu let out a little flame and instantly the bread caught alight. For the second time that day Taro almost slapped himself, he really had expected too much of Natsu, he ordered the boy to put the flames out but it was too little too late. The top slice of bread had blackened and singed. It was ruined in a typical Natsu style. There was no time left to grab another slice of bread so they turned the slice over just as the timer clocked down.

Droy looked at the five sandwiches he had been presented with, none of which looked particularly enjoyable. He started with Taro's effort, a cheese and ham toasted sandwich, it looked by far the best prepared of the lot. How sadly mistaken he was. The bread crumbled in his mouth and he coughed up soot, what the heck had happened. He turned over the bread and looked at the horrifying truth. The underside had been blackened hard, like burnt toast. Droy threw the sandwich to the floor declaring it trash. Taro sighed and gave a reassuring shrug to Natsu, least they had tried. Erza's sandwich consisted of ham, bread and what looked like tobasco sauce. Needless to say Droy was not impressed and soon the sandwich received the same treatment. It occurred to Taro that although Lucy could cook, Erza wasn't exactly a gourmet chef. In fact the girl had rather strange eating habits which consisted mainly of cake. The contest between the final three was much closer, it turned out both Laxus and Guildarts weren't completely incompetent when it came to cooking, after all they were often away from the guild for long periods of time. Mirajane was undoubtedly a pro. In the end the game was given to Mirajane for her sublime cheese and chutney sandwich, followed by Guildarts BLT, and Laxus's chicken tikka. Both Erza and Taro scored no points.

The final scores for the event were not given out. Somehow master Makarov was able to stamp a big 'To be Continued' on to the competition and told everyone that they had to come back the following year to see the competition completed. The master's reasoning was incredibly sketchy, especially since Fairy Tail had raked in a lot of money with the event, regardless it was soon forgotten and the Fantasia parade was performed. Natsu, Taro, Lucy and Happy shared a float, although Natsu really only walked in front of it. It was a fantastic night for all involved and a good day in general for the guild. It was late by the time Lucy walked the empty streets back to her house with Natsu and Happy in tail. She had offered them her house for the night since expecting them to walk through the woods on their own at this time was potentially too much. It had occurred to her that even if she hadn't offered, they more than likely would have been in head bedroom come the morning.

As they made their way through the streets in silence a mouse jumped out from a fallen trash can. Lucy jumped with fright letting out a high pitched squeal. Natsu jogged up to her, her typical knight in shining armour finding it quite hilarious. It was only then that the man made himself known. A hooded figure stepped out of the alley way, he had a long pointed nose that protruded from his hood and thick bushy eyebrows. His back was hunched over to the point that it looked like he didn't have a neck at all. The man looked positively hideous and if Lucy hadn't been classically trained she probably would have shown her disgust to the man. He smiled up at them showing a set of decaying yellow teeth.

"What a lovely night for a walk," the man's voice sounded like fingernails on a chalk board, it occurred to Lucy that from what she had seen and heard so far, this man had no appealing qualities. Was that even possible in a human being? Lucy felt Natsu shrug next to her and realised the man had been talking directly to them. "There aren't many more things in this world that are more precious than these moments. Make sure to cherish them."

Lucy couldn't stand being around this man any more. Every impulse in her body was telling her to run as far as possible. She had never felt so repulsed by someone in her entire life. The man walked towards them, passing them whilst still speaking.

"Those keys though deary, those are precious too."

Lucy didn't exactly know what the guy meant but he was gone and that was all that mattered. She sighed in relief. For some reason the man had completely shaken her. The fantastic day had been ruined by the incident, if only Lucy knew why.


	11. Leaving Love Behind

**A/N: Hey everyone, thanks for still reading. I've been updating everyday since i started by fic 11 days ago now. However over the next few days I'm going to be busy so I may not be able to keep that pace up! I'm so sorry :3 I'll do my best but I have someone staying at my house so will only update if I have the time. The next update will definitely be within the next few days though, whether it will be tomorrow is questionable. I will do my best!**

The air tasted so different this close to the coast. If you breathed in too deep the salt in the air would make your mouth dry up, not something that was particularly enjoyable. The sound of seagulls flying above them was muted by the bustling habitants of Hargeon Town, the very place where Lucy had first met Natsu all those years ago. She hadn't realised it at the time but looking back at it now it had been possibly the best day of her life. In fact it had been, without a doubt, it had been the day that her entire world had been flipped upside down and she would never have wanted it any other way. She vaguely recalled having a conversation with Cana about her meeting her 'fated' person on the particular date. It brought a blush to her face to think that it may be Natsu, though she had, and still did, assume it was more about her happiness, even if Cana would insist otherwise. It had been a long time since she'd been to the port. A long time as far as she was concerned and even longer to those who hadn't lost seven years. The town had changed very little, apart from the south port which had been completely redesigned since it had been levelled by herself and Natsu. It looked a little out of place, far more modern than the cobblestone streets and pure white buildings. She questioned whether Natsu was even allowed in the town after last time but decided only time would tell.

It was a beautiful day, there was barely a cloud in the sky and the sun was reflecting off the white buildings giving the town the impression that it were glowing. Lucy, Natsu, Taro and Happy were currently heading out on the mission they had picked many days previously. The S-Class request required them to travel to a little island at the very border of Fiora. Travelling to an island meant going by boat, something Natsu was not looking forward to, though both Taro and Lucy knew he would go where ever the fight was. The four of them made their way down to the port, it saddened Lucy that they couldn't spend the day at the beach instead but they had already delayed their journey for as long. The group had taken a few days to rest and ready themselves after Fantasia and had set out to Hargeon in order to catch the boat that had been hired by their employer. Natsu had sulked the entire way down on the train, something that Lucy was very used to. As the four of them moved towards the shipyard a shrill high pitched scream filled the air.

A girl of about 16 years ran full pelt towards them screaming the words:

"Salamander!"

The event was somewhat reminiscent of when Lucy had first been to the port. However this time the girl actually seemed to be able to identify the dragon slayer for who he was. Natsu was a little taken aback, he wasn't used to being recognised so readily, especially when people weren't waving pitchforks and chasing him away. Whenever he did anything wrong people seemed to know who he was and the information would get back to the guild in one way or another. When he did something right, Fairy Tail got the credit. This girl though was looking up at him as if he was some kind of God. It suddenly dawned on Natsu that she was a fan. He'd never had a fan before, a grin as broad as Elfman's shoulders grew on his face.

Lucy stiffened, she felt her heartbeat quicken, she was actually upset that Natsu was getting attention from the girl. It wasn't like Natsu didn't have any secret admirers, Lisanna was an obvious example, but none had been so bold as to approach him in the open before, at least when Lucy was with him. Lucy hoped Natsu would let her down easy but as she turned to the dragon slayer she was horrified to see the grin he was wearing. Natsu was enjoying it!

The girl pouted and looked up at Natsu with eyes as big as saucers.

"I watched you in the grand magic games. You were my favourite."

The nerve of the girl, Lucy's blood was boiling but she kept a calm composure. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Taro smirking at her and shaking his head. Lucy knew what he was saying, don't attack the girl. Lucy wanted to smack him for even thinking such a thing though she understood that on occasion she could be just as aggressive as Erza. Lucy watched as the girl grabbed hold of Natsu's arm and tugged him away from them. Lucy started to follow but Taro held her back.

"Natsu," he called to the boy, "We can only spare a few minutes."

Natsu nodded and returned his attention the the girl who was talking at him, not with him. It would have been funny to see if Lucy wasn't so blinded with rage. She knew she had no reason to be so angry but every instinct was telling her to summon Loke to clobber the girl. Lucy just watched as the girl produced a picture of Natsu and handed it and a pen to the dragon slayer. This girl was some kind of sick twisted demon. Natsu sighed the picture and handed it back to the girl. Who was shaking with excitement, Lucy counted every word of thanks that left the girls mouth, wasn't there a legal limit to the amount of flattery one person could give to another? Perhaps Lucy should consider calling the police. Taro's imposed time limit was reaching it's end so Taro walked up to Natsu and motioned towards the port. The girl looked down at her feet, a blush creeping across her face, before instantly throwing her arms around the dragon slayer and holding him tight. Time ticked by very slowly for Lucy as she watched frustrated, she didn't know why she felt so hostile towards the girl but she did. When the girl tugged Natsu down and pecked him lightly on the cheek Lucy had had enough, she was about to pull out one of her keys when the girl turned around a ran off waving her arm as she did so.

"Are you okay Lucy?" Natsu asked looking at the blonde Celestial mage inquisitively. Lucy's face was flushed a dark red and her usually bright eyes had turned a shade darker, Natsu could tell from her scent that she was sweating a little bit too. Lucy nodded slowly trying to regain her composure when Happy floated up, unseen by either of them.

"S-s-she likesss you." The cat curled his tongue in his trademark fashion and was met by a thump to the head by the already enraged Lucy.

"We're gonna be late for the boat, thats all." Lucy snapped. All four of the mages glanced at the time and realised that her words were true. Taro took charge and they marched off in an brisk jog towards the pier.

Finding the boat was actually far simpler than any of them had imagined. They simply walked up to the pier and had someone direct them to the ship. The ship was a small fishing boat, according to the captain the bigger ships refused to go to the island anymore due to the pirates that had taken over. The mission was to remedy the situation, to remove the pirates and allow the trading routes to reopen. It was a pretty big mission, there was a lot at stake for the country, as well as the guild's reputation. Lucy was a little worried about dealing with the pirates but she knew that with the two boys at her side she would be fine. The boat cast off almost as soon as the mages had settled down on-board, the crew consisted of the captain and his 'first mate' nobody more. It was almost spookily quiet, and only growing more so as they moved out into the open ocean. Natsu was slugged over the railings looking green as always. Lucy sat inside, trying to shield herself from the chilly winds of the ocean. She pulled out a book and was about to start reading when Taro sat down next to her. Lucy had calmed down by now so she gave the boy the best smiled she could muster.

"Feeling better?" The question was so obviously a poke that Lucy didn't even falter, she just nodded. If Taro was surprised at how calm Lucy was he didn't show it he just smiled.

"Remember when I said I'd teach you some magic to help you get stronger?"

Lucy's eyes widened, was he really offering her the secrets of his magic. Magic that was apparently only passed down through his village, master to pupil. Lucy didn't know what to say, it was flattering that Taro thought she could handle it. She nodded slowly.

"I know you were kind of down then but my offer still stands. We have some time now so if you want..."

Taro didn't finish the sentence Lucy was nodding ferociously, she had always been the weakest on the team, on every mission, every single time. She knew that the others were leaps and bounds ahead of her but she had worked really hard not to let them down. If she could get that little bit more she knew she could be more useful. Taro laughed at her enthusiasm. It occurred to him that the ability to pull magical energy from her surroundings would be incredibly useful to Lucy. Her magic required a sustained stress on the flow of her magic, if he could help her increase the length of time she could keep her spirits out, she would be much stronger.

"Great, lets do this." Taro began to head for the door. Lucy shivered not really wanting to brave the winds but followed excited.

"Like I said my magic is all about the conservation of magical energy, I can change any type of energy into any other so long as the fundamental quantity remains constant. In other words the more energy around me the stronger I am." Taro explained with some confidence and Lucy realised that he must be mimicking the words that his teacher had spoken to him. Lucy happened to know that the magic Taro knew had been adapted for combat by the boy. Taro took a step back and took in a deep breath.

"For example, I can take the energy from the wind and convert it into light like so."

Taro held his hands about three inches apart and a ball of white light appeared between them. Lucy took in a deep breath the light looked so pure, it was beautiful. The light changed colour turning red to green to blue to purple, it flickered between them like a disco ball. Pleased with her reaction Taro clapped his hands together causing the light to disappear and Lucy to jump. He smiled.

"To begin with try making the light with your own magical power. Try channelling it to your hands, as heat if you have to."

Lucy held her hands apart and concentrated on moving her magic to her hands. It was a different form of magic to what she was used to, more like Natsu's. She couldn't feel anything changing, maybe she just couldn't do it. As she was about to give up a small spark of light shot from her finger, it was only for a second but it was definitely there. She turned to Taro triumphant. The boy gave her a thumbs up.

"Practise that for a while, when you can hold the light for at least ten seconds let me know."

Lucy nodded, she had felt the power for only a second but her confidence was sky high. She turned to continue her practise, Taro didn't move and sat there staring out at the ocean. She took it as a sign that he didn't expect it to take her too long and set to work. With this she would be stronger than ever, the thought made her happier than it should. She would be useful to everyone, to her team, to Natsu.


	12. Fortune Favours the Brave

**A/N: I did it! I managed to get another chapter out despite having a guest round! Probably makes me the worst host ever but hey, what cha gonna do? Unfortunately I don't see myself being able to get another chapter up until Sunday, sorry. So I have left you with a lovely little cliffhanger, though you never know, if I can there may be an update tomorrow! **

Lucy didn't move until the sun had started to set and they approached the little island on which their mission was to take place. A look of concentration was spread across her features, her hands held inches apart. Taro had sat next to her the entire way watching the girl attempt to conjure a sphere of light between her mitts. He hadn't expected her to be so dedicated, he hadn't taken her for the sort, but something inside her was willing her to master the magic. Taro had to admire the girl for it. He had starred out to the ocean for the most part, daydreaming about his future, or reminiscing about the past. It was somewhat calming just letting the waves crash into the side of the ship, the gentle rocking lulling him to sleep. He hadn't meant to but he had drifted off from time to time only to be woken again by a sudden spray of water or a change in the wind. It occurred to him that although they were about to partake in a dangerous mission none of the mages had eaten anything whilst onboard the ship. That was unlikely to be good for their strength but he really didn't feel like moving. It was just too comfortable leaning against the railings and letting his bare feet dangle over the ocean. Natsu had been sick on numerous occasions, the dragon slayer just couldn't seem to keep anything inside him, it was surprising there was anything left. It had taken the boat a few hours to reach the island and the sun had been setting almost since they had left the port. The red light now reflected off the ocean making the sea look like a river of blood. It was haunting in a way, especially since the only sound was that of the motor whirring away against the water. When the island came into sight Taro decided it was time to mentally prepare himself. He pushed himself to his feet allowing the blood to flow back through his toes and went inside to grab a drink, making sure to bring a mug out for Lucy.

Taro had a lot to think about regarding the mission. Simple pirates weren't usually bold enough to take over an entire dock, let alone an island. Pirates tended to be more like thugs than anything else, simple minded and aggressive but not difficult to deal with. The fact that the island had offered such a high reward spelt danger to Taro. These pirates were not of the same kin as those he'd met in the past. He was sure of that. The island was a major shipping partner for most of the ports in Fiore and was well known for it's wine. If Taro had been anyone else he would have assumed the pirates were just after the booze, after all pirates loved to drink. To Taro though, there was something deeper, the island was situated about half way between Bosco and Fiore, the two neighbouring kingdoms. It was a perfect place for someone to escape the outside world, to go unnoticed. The likelihood was that someone was hiding there, someone who didn't want to be found. Though they weren't doing a good job if the pirates were ransacking the place. It made Taro wonder, he didn't have enough information to solve the puzzle but he had enough sense to know there was more than met the eye.

The ship was nearing the harbour where they would be dropped off, about a kilometre away from the land the boat suddenly dropped anchor. Taro knew what was coming next, it made sense that even though the ship had been chartered to bring them here the crew didn't want themselves to be endangered. It angered Taro slightly that they didn't trust him to protect them, though in this day and age it was best to be on guard.

"This is as far as we go." The ships captain spoke in a flat emotionless voice but Taro knew he was scared. He nodded slowly thanking the man for his help, he knew perfectly well that as soon as the mages were off the ship it would turn around again and head back to Hargeon. They were being abandoned in hostile territory with no escape. The only way for them to return to the main land would be to complete the mission. If they died here, their loved ones would never get their bodies. Taro turned to his team, Lucy looked upset that the men wouldn't take them any further whilst Natsu was still hunched over the railing trying to hold any remaining food inside him down. Taro turned to them and explained his plan. He would swim to the island, he was a strong swimmer and it wouldn't take him more than 10 minutes or so. He asked Happy to wait five minutes and carry each of the other two in turn, it would be hard going for the exceed but he needed them to be at their best. Happy agreed, excited to have such a pivotal role right off the bat. With that explained Taro removed his shirt and handed his dry clothes to the cat, asking him to bring them with Natsu. Before diving into the water and swimming off towards the island.

Lucy watched the dark hair boy go, his arms swung round at a steady tempo, a little trail of slash following behind him. He really was moving quickly, she was impressed. Taro had asked her to remain on the boat the longest simply due to the fact that Natsu needed to get off the transportation as quickly as possible in order to recover. It occurred to her that the dragon slayer probably could have swum the distance too though currently his stomach, and so his energy reserves, were more or less empty. Five minutes slowly passed and Taro could no longer be seen over the horizon. Happy quickly picked up the dragon slayer and followed after Taro with a change of clothes. If Taro had timed it right they should arrive at about the same time leaving Lucy alone for about 10 minutes. She was about to return to practising conjuring light when a gruff male voice rang behind her.

"They left you alone did they?" Lucy turned to see the captain of the ship standing behind her. He was a good foot and a half taller than her and Lucy couldn't help but feel a little bit intimidated.

"Not for long," she muttered not caring to speak to the man who was about to abandon them.

"You have good friends, they'd do anything to protect you." The tone of the man's voice was strange, the way he had spoken made it seem like an accusation more than a statement. What was wrong with having people who cared about you. She nodded slowly. The longer this conversation kept up the more creeped out she felt. The man sighed.

"It's shame, they seem like good people." Lucy couldn't take it any more what the heck was this guy spouting. She turned around angrily to give him a piece of her mind. Suddenly a hand was at her thigh, she shrieked, he was molesting her! No, he was fishing for something else, her keys. Lucy tried to stop him but two firm hands held her back. The only other man on the ship had her against the rail as his partner removed her keys from her shorts. Lucy wailed in protest but nobody could hear her this far out, nobody. Lucy was thrown to the deck roughly and a rope tied around her wrists, she tried to struggle but it was futile, these men were too strong.

"I'm so sorry," The nerve of the man, to apologise to her now after doing this, the words meant nothing, Lucy struggled. "Your not the first group to come to this island as per the request."

Lucy froze, what was this man saying. Had the entire thing been a deliberate ploy to get mages to come to the island. What did they plan to do to her, to her friends. Her eyes widen with terror.

"They only want the girls see." It was the other man that spoke now, his voice was not as steady as the captain's it almost sounded like he was crying. "They'll kill the men."

Lucy's heart sank, they'd kill them, they'd kill Natsu. Lucy couldn't bare to think about a world without her beloved partner. Thoughts of Happy's head on a spike brought tears to Lucy's eyes.

"You bastards..." was all she could muster before a rag was stuffed in her mouth.

"Look, they wont hurt you, they'll feed you and keep you locked up then sell you on. You'll be pampered." The words didn't sound very assuring, Lucy could tell that the man who was saying them was trying to convince himself, rather than her. When the captain spoke again even his voice sounded shaky.

"If we don't give you to them, they'll attack Hargeon, they'll destroy everything... I'm sorry."

Lucy couldn't believe this was happening, she had to escape somehow. Her thoughts wondered to her prince charming, the boy who always came to her rescue, Natsu would come back for her. Lucy was confident that these two men weren't strong enough to handle an enraged dragon. It was only then that she noticed the ship sailing towards them from around the side of the island. A wooden mermaid was carved into the front of the giant, warship-sized cruiser heading towards them. A skull and cross bones hanged from the mask, baring it's teeth at her as if gloating. Lucy felt her stomach turn and her blood run cold. They hadn't just sold her out, they had purposely waited for the boys to leave to signal the pirates to the all clear. Lucy shook with anger and fear, the mixture of emotions boiled inside her. The two men stood in front of her and for the first time she could see their expressions. They didn't look pleased with themselves, in fact they looked like they were about to breakdown. Lucy realised that these people were just as scared as she was, they were protecting their family, their friends just as she did with her magic. It was almost enough for her to forgive them, almost.

The ship edged closer and a lone man jumped from the deck landing silently next to Lucy.

"Just the one this time?" his speech was slurred slightly, he was drunk. Lucy was being captured by a drunk. The captain nodded slowly causing the pirate to cackle. Lucy looked at her captor. He wore a black bandana over his white, shoulder length hair and had a scar ran from his right eye to his chin. His ear looked like it had been chewed on by some kind of wild animal and his nose was bend and crooked from being broken too many times. The man was positively hideous, both in appearance and personality. "Well the boss should be happy anyway, I'm sure she's worth at least a week."

Lucy watched the two men shaking.

"There's these as well." The younger man spoke, his voice trembling with fear as he held out Lucy's keys, the pirate's eyes widened with delight as he snatched them away.

"Shiny!" The man was batty, Lucy could see that now, he didn't want the keys for their power, he wanted them for their glint. The pirate must have sensed her gaze as his eyes travelled down to hers.

"Hello deary. These are lovely." The man shook her keys in his grubby hands snarling at Lucy like a hungry wolf. "Now their mine, so don't tell the boss."

Lucy nodded her head, to her this seemed like a lucky break, if this guy was just a grunt, maybe she could over power him and reclaim her keys at some point.

"There's two boys and a cat, as well. They've headed for the island already."

The pirate smiled at the news, "Fresh blood."

Lucy couldn't take this any more, this man was everything that was wrong with humanity, she couldn't let him hurt her friends. She floundered around on the deck trying to find a way into at least a seated position. Suddenly she felt a hand on her head, the pirate starred into her eyes and utter something. Instantly Lucy's eyelids began to droop, she felt ridiculously tired, now wasn't the time but she couldn't help herself. The world slowly turned to black as she slipped from consciousness.

_Help me, Natsu_


	13. A Need to Protect

**A/N: Hey guys. I'm back after my 2 day break XD Hooray. Thanks for reading and continuing to support me!**

Natsu only felt better for a second. As soon as Happy set him down on dry land Natsu could tell something was wrong. Taro sat crossed legged on the shoreline a frown spread across his brow. Water dripped from his hair over his shoulders and down his back in little waterfalls. A small puddle had formed around him. Happy was about to make his way back to the boat to pick up Lucy when Taro confirmed Natsu's suspicions.

"Happy..." Taro's voice was too calm for Natsu, it slightly irritated him, why was the boy beating around the bush, Natsu wanted to know what had happened. Happy stopped mid flight, only then sensing that something had gone wrong. Natsu's eyes quickly scanned around the area. They were on a sandy beach to the right of the port town but even from here Natsu could tell the town was empty. There were no signs of life, nothing, no lights in the windows, no smells of food, and most importantly no sounds at all. It was almost as if everyone that had lived there had packed up and left. It definitely didn't sound as if the town had been taken over by rowdy pirates, it sounded more like a graveyard. Natsu shivered, it wasn't something he had been expecting.

"We've been tricked." Taro's statement was obvious, it angered Natsu that the boy was still stalling, still thinking about what to do next. If it were up to him they would simply save Lucy by charging full speed into the enemy territory. Assuming Lucy needed saving, she was stronger than most people gave her credit for, Natsu knew that, it was something he really admired in her. One of many things. It occurred to Natsu that he was still in the dark as to what had exactly happened.

"As soon as you left another ship took Lucy away. I'm not exactly sure where or why but they must be somewhere on the island." Taro had finally started to talk and Natsu felt his heart fall as he realised his worst fears had been correct. Lucy was in trouble and he would be damned if he let anyone touch even a single hair on the girl's head. Taro could see Natsu's blood boiling but he was by no means finished.

"W-w-why didn't you do anything?" Natsu snapped at Taro taking the dark haired boy by surprise. Taro starred into the eyes of the dragon slayer and sighed.

"What could I do Natsu? I was here and they were out there." Natsu growled, he wasn't happy but he knew his friend was right, and would fight for Lucy almost as hard as he would, almost, but nobody could match Natsu's desire to save her, to keep her safe.

"How did you know?" Natsu asked through gritted teeth, the boat had moored about a kilometre away, it was well out of view over the choppy ocean.

"I had an inkling, something felt wrong, so I sent a pulse of magical energy outwards, it's like sonar. I saw the second ship, I've been trying to work out where it's headed."

Natsu nodded slowly, he wasn't entirely sure what sonar was but if Taro said so Natsu chose to trust his friend. The fact that Taro had been tracking the ship's progress suggested to him that Taro wasn't going to leave this disgrace sitting down, the counter-attack was about to begin. Taro stood up slowly, pulled on the T-shirt that Happy had brought him and started to walk in the direction of town. Natsu followed assuming the boy was leading them to Lucy though the knot in his stomach told him the boy was after something else.

As they reached the streets of the small port a shiver ran down Natsu's spine. The place felt even more like a graveyard now that they were inside it. Looking through the windows Natsu could tell whatever had happened here, had happened suddenly. There were tables set for dinner and televisions that were still on though only showing static. As they approached one such house Taro quickly kicked down the door. The sudden aggression surprised Natsu who looked at his partner confused. Taro ushered him inside without saying a word, Natsu shared a glance with Happy and followed the boy unquestioning. Inside the small house everything was still, not even a single spider lined the abandoned corners or the dust ridden cardboards. It was the strangest thing Natsu had ever seen. Taro made his way quickly over to the fridge and opened it up, grabbed something and threw it to Natsu.

"Eat."

The words were spoken in a way that was so similar to Erza that Natsu didn't feel like arguing. He had only just realised how hungry he was. Taro had thrown him a salami sausage and Natsu demolished it in seconds. Taro sat down on the sofa and looked at Natsu. Natsu took his time chewing the final mouthful using the extra time in order to calm his shaking body down. He was still upset at losing Lucy, but he trusted Taro, he knew the boy wouldn't leave her behind any more than the rest of the guild would.

"Why did we choose this house, for the food?" Natsu posed the question nonchalantly, he would test the boys answer to determine whether or not he deserved to remain in charge, it all depended on whether Lucy was the priority. Taro slowly shook his head.

"No, all the houses still have food in, it's that." Taro pointed towards the near wall where a map of the island was pasted on the wall. "Whatever happened, all the people left in a hurry, that's for sure. Nobody was oppressed, everyone just left." Taro's hand was clenched so tight that Natsu could swear he would draw blood from his palm. Taro was angry, it wasn't the same anger that boiled within Natsu, no the anger was far more controlled, far more dangerous. Natsu felt himself shiver, the entire time he had been blinded by his own rage, he hadn't stopped to think Taro may feel the same way, after all it had been his call that had gone wrong, he that felt the most betrayed. Natsu noted to himself not to question the boy again.

"This is the only port on the island." Taro's finger darted over the map as he spoke, drawing invisible circles with his fingers. The port was located within a little bay on the south side of the island, the northern parts were made up of densely packed forest, or farmland, there was no sign of a village or port. "Since the ship came from around here, we should assume they have a hideout somewhere on the island. Since it's clearly not in this town, it must be in the north." Taro's fingers drifted up to one spot on the map and stopped as he jabbed the page hard.

"Which means they must have a base around here."

Natsu looked at the map, he hadn't noticed it but taro had pointed to the only point where there were no contour lines. A small short beach, at the north east tip of the island, the only location possible for anyone to make anchor outside of the port. Natsu nodded, he wouldn't have been able to think so clearly in this situation, if it had been up to him he would probably have burnt the forest down, and the port along with it.

"Along that part of the island there's only one building large enough to house a small army of foot soldiers. Only one on this map at least, the grape yard farmhouse."

The logic was flawless, Natsu was instantly convinced that they had located Lucy but he was done throwing his anger irrationally in all directions. For the first time in his life he was prepared to wait for a plan before he did anything stupid. Maybe it was because the stakes were higher than ever, after all, Lucy meant more to him now that ever before, as hard as it was to believe. He really didn't think he could live without her, she was vital to his existence. Besides, judging by the map, even with his limited knowledge of map reading, the distance from the port to the farmhouse would take a while on foot. He needn't have worried though, Taro was one step ahead of him.

"So all we need to do is get there. This island is pretty famous for it's wine, they export it to Fiore and Bosco, which means they must have some way of moving the grapes to the brewery and then to here. I reckon if we can find the storehouse in town we can find a magic powered vehicle. After all the wine is brewed with magic."

Natsu wasn't too fond of magic cars. He'd managed to avoid sitting in the one Erza had driven back when Lucy had first joined the guild by making Happy fly him. However looking at the exceed now he didn't think he'd be able to keep up. Happy looked pretty worn out, probably because he'd been chasing fish most of the boat journey, Natsu knew whether he liked it or not the quickest way to get Lucy back was to suck it up. For her he could do it. Maybe today was really a day of firsts, the first time in his life he would listen to reason and willingly ride a car. What the girl had done to deserve it he wasn't sure, he really didn't know.

Taro forced Natsu to sit for five minutes, to let his stomach settle as well as his mind. When he deemed the dragon slayer ready they left the house, closing the door behind them and straightening as much of the furniture as possible before they headed down to the shipyard. Happy floated behind them, he hadn't said a word the entire time. Taro could tell the exceed was blaming himself for not being there to save the blonde. The exceed was hurting but both Taro and Natsu weren't in the right frame of mind to comfort him, they're eyes were firmly set on saving their team mate.

When they arrived at the dock it was instantly obvious that Taro's assumption was correct. A line of lorry like vehicles lined a large warehouse on all sides. Some of them looked unusable, flat tyres, shattered windscreens, but others could easily have been new. Taro walked up to one and tried the door. It was unsurprisingly locked but without even flinching Taro yanked the door straight off it's hinge. If Natsu had been in a better mood he may have been startled, Taro had turned one of the better looking vehicles into a wreck in seconds, but Natsu simply climbed into the passenger seat and kicked the door out, for symmetries sake he would argue if anyone asked, but in reality it was just a nice way to vent his frustration.

Taro climbed into the drivers seat and slipped a little wristband over his forearm. Magic vehicles operated by draining the magical power from the driver, like fuel in a petrol car. It was incredibly taxing for a normal mage, Natsu had witnessed Erza brought to her knees while plugged in, though she had been driving at ridiculous speeds. It briefly occurred to Natsu that Taro would likely need all his magical power when they got to their destination. He was about to question the boys plan when Taro smiled at him. Instantly the lorry jumped forward and began to roll down the cobblestone pavement. Natsu felt the wave of nausea wash over him, gently he leant out of the door frame and tried to let the fresh air help his plight. This was for Lucy, that was as good as any tropia... he wished.

"I'll be as quick as possible." Taro's voice sounded quite over the roar of the wind rushing through Natsu's hair but he felt the vehicle begin to speed up. They were going so fast that the surroundings were literally just a blur, within seconds they had left the town behind. In minutes they were powering through the woodland and before Natsu had a chance to empty his stomach, they rolled to a halt.

_Lucy, I'm here._


	14. On the Heels of Despair

**A/N: Hello again, thanks for being here! We're actually quite a few chapters into my story now though I still have a lot planned... This could end up being an incredibly long fic. Oh well :) **

Lucy shivered as she let light creep through the slits of her eyelids. She was in a dark cell, roughly four square metres in size with a barred doorway and window from which a minuscule amount of light was creeping in. The walls were made of grey, hard concrete and even before Lucy tested their strength she knew they weren't budging. She was by no means restrained, no hand cuffs or iron ball to keep her still. No, whom ever her captors were, they were confident she would not be able to make her way from the cell. Lucy was determined to make them regret that mistake. She glanced around the small space in hopes of finding something, anything she could use as part of a plan to escape. However the room was entirely bare, there was no bed, no chair, nothing but the four walls on each side. It was damn cold too, which lead Lucy to believe that it must be evening, the warmth of the day faded quickly out here it would seem. The celestial mage let out a sigh, this kind of thing had happened all to often since she had joined Fairy Tail. She knew that her comrades would be on their way to get her out but she really didn't want to sit around waiting for them. She hated the role of damsel in distress even if it fitted her better than her skin.

Lucy walked over to the black iron bars which constrained her and squinted into the darkness beyond them. She could make out a short hallway lined with identical rooms. It seemed her captors held more than just one prisoner. Lucy leant against the bars, testing to see whether there were any weaknesses in their design. Nothing budged, not even an inch. Lucy let out a second sigh, it seemed she was out of luck, the prison was built well enough to hold her in. She could already picture Natsu bursting through one of the walls as if it were made of paper. Lucy sometimes regretted not having Caster magic which wouldn't force her to rely on her keys. Suddenly a small whisper pierced the darkness, it was faint but Lucy knew she had heard something. She rushed over to the barred doorway to take a better look.

"Hello?" Lucy called into the darkness, she heard her voice echo off the walls but was relieved when a muffled reply returned to her.

"Shhh, keep your voice down or they'll hear us."

Lucy was a little taken a back but quickly decided it was her problem, she nodded to herself to keep her usually spirited voice to a minimum. The voice had been oddly familiar, it was soft and squeaky, definitely a girls voice.

"Who are you?" Lucy's voice was much quieter this time, she pleaded for the girl to cooperate.

"I'm Millianna from Mermaid Heel."

It took a second for the words to sink in to Lucy, wait Millianna, Mermaid Heel! So the crew that had sailed her to the island must have done the same thing to Mermaid Heel. It made sense, after all Lucy could remember one of the men telling her they weren't the first people to come on this request.

"Millianna! It's me, Lucy of Fairy Tail." Lucy tried to keep her voice down but Millianna was a caster type, that meant she should be able to break them out of the cells. However Lucy's excitement was short lived.

"They got you too Lucy? Is Erza here?" The cat girls voice sounded so sorrowful, so broken, Lucy realised that perhaps the girl had been here longer than Lucy had imagined.

"No it's just me. Are you hurt?"

"No, I... they took Kagura somewhere... they're strong, too strong." Lucy hesitated. She'd witnessed both Millianna and Kagura's strength in the grand magic games, neither of them were a joke, especially Kagura. Lucy had missed the final day of the games but she had heard from everyone at the guild that Kagura was equal, if not stronger than Erza, despite the fact Erza had 'won' their fight. If the people that held the key to her freedom were able to defeat someone as powerful as Kagura there was almost no hope of Lucy getting away on her own. Worse yet, Natsu may not stand a chance against them either. Lucy let the words sink in for a minute before replying.

"Where is she? Who else is with you?" Lucy's voice was trembling now, an image of a bloodied Natsu crossed her mind, she couldn't bare to see him battered and bruised because of her. Though knowing the boy like she did, he would likely get himself beat up with or without her aid.

"Risley came with us. I don't know where she is... I...I'm scared Lucy."

Lucy didn't expect to hear the words from the woman's mouth. The Millianna she had watched in the games had been strong, confident and full of energy. The one that she was talking to in the dark sounded timid and broken.

"Don't worry Millianna, help's coming."

It was the best Lucy could do to encourage her friend, after all, by the sounds of things they were relying on Taro and Natsu to dig them out of this hole. Lucy sat down on the cold stone floor of her cell. She had plenty of time for her thoughts now that she knew what her situation better. She didn't like taking such a passive stance but she didn't see any other way at the moment. What good would it do her if she made it outside only to be crushed by a power far greater than her own. Instead Lucy concentrated her magical energy into her hands, trying to recreate the sphere of light that Taro had shown her on the boat. She had been getting pretty good at it. Slowly a pulsing ball formed between her fingers and expanded slowly, Lucy smiled to herself. She stood up gently, trying to keep her concentration and walked towards the cell door again. Maybe she could get a better view of the corridor with this to help her.

Lucy pressed her head against the iron bars and looked out only to be met by a familiar, disturbing face.

"Hello again."

The pirate that had boarded the fishing boat looked even worse up close. His eyes gleamed lifelessly in the light and his breath stank of alcohol. Lucy instantly retreated into the safety of her cell. Her comfort was short lived however as with a rattle of a set of keys the door was flung open. The man grabbed Lucy and yanked her towards the end of the corridor. Lucy followed without question, not wanting to be put to sleep again. As she walked down the corridor Lucy looked into the other cells, trying to find Millianna. Most of the cells were empty but she found the girl two cells down from hers. Lucy noted the location to herself. There were a few more girls in some of the cells but none she recognised in the light. Soon she was pushed outside into the cool evening air. Lucy's assumption had been correct, the sun was in the process of setting causing the island to be illuminated by a red glow which caused all the shadows to elongate. They marched on towards what looked like a large house, entering through the back door and towards what could only be the study. Inside a woman was sitting against a large chair, she had long black flowing hair that dropped to about halfway down her back. Her eyes were a deep brown, that looked like they could swallow you whole and never let you go. Her eyebrows were perfectly groomed and her lips were well cared for, not a single wrinkle plastered her face. The woman was incredibly beautiful and yet radiated such pressure that Lucy found herself trying to turn away from her.

The pirate ushered Lucy to sit on the stool opposite the woman and then moved to stand by the doorway, blocking Lucy's only escape route, not that Lucy planned on moving at all from the spot she found herself in. She wanted the moment of peace to last for eternity, unfortunately the silence was short lived. The woman spoke, barely moving her lips, as if the action of talking would ruin her good looks. It was almost as if she were posing for a picture.

"Hello girl. I don't care who you are, or where you came from, all I want to know is what magic you possess."

The woman didn't cut any corners, she was as direct to the point as anyone Lucy had ever met. It unnerved the mage though she did her best not to show it. She knew she might irritate the woman with her words but she refused to just let this person walk all over her.

"I'm Lucy from Fairy Tail."

Lucy wasn't sure if she was going to regret the words, for an instant she was sure the woman would strike out at her but instead the woman sat in silence, not even blinking as she starred straight into Lucy. Lucy felt as if she was being violated. She didn't want to cave but the woman had a strange presence about her. She quickly glanced towards the door, thinking about trying to run for it but there was noway she'd make it. She looked at the man at the door who was fidgeting slightly. It was then that Lucy remembered that he had told her he was keeping her keys for himself, as part of his treasure. The thought of dobbing the man in for his betrayal crossed Lucy's mind but she quickly decided that between the two of them, she would rather deal with the pirate, the woman had some kind of aura which led Lucy to believe she was extremely powerful.

"I use light magic," Lucy said as calmly as she could muster. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the pirate sigh in relief, clearly Lucy had made the correct decision. The man was petrified of the woman.

"Oh," it was the woman that had spoken and her tone was all too accusing for Lucy to feel safe. "I had thought you more the holder type. Show me."

The woman's order was direct and Lucy didn't feel like arguing. Without thinking Lucy held her hands inches apart and focused her energy into her palms. A light flickered for a moment before fizzling out. Under the pressure Lucy was losing it. She took a deep breathe and tried again, channelling the energy into her finger tips. This time a sphere of light appeared, Lucy looked up at the woman who had a questioning look on her face, she clearly wasn't convinced. Lucy quickly clapped her hadn't together and the light disappeared, exactly as Taro had shown her on the boat. It was somewhat rewarding to see the look of surprise that crossed the woman's face though only for a second.

"Interesting, it reminds me of magic someone I know uses... you'll have to show me it in combat."

Lucy stiffened, combat... there was noway she could fight using the magic that Taro had shown her. She would definitely need her keys in order to fight, she would be busted in no time. The woman picked up what looked like a chess piece and placed it in front of her. Instantly Lucy heard footsteps down the hall and a young woman carrying a sword entered the room; Kagura. Lucy looked at the Mermaid Heel mage but all she could see in the girls eyes was darkness, it didn't look like she was even alive, just a husk rather than a person. Lucy shuddered, what ever had been done to Kagura, it had broken her, just as it had broken Millianna. Perhaps even worse.

"Come girl, we shall spar outside." It was the woman who spoke but Kagura who moved, Lucy didn't know what to do, suddenly she was tugged aside by the pirate and marched towards the back door. The woman didn't follow, she stayed seated in exactly the same position that Lucy had seen her in as she had entered the room.

Lucy was pushed into the courtyard and soon found herself squaring off against the emotionless Kagura. Lucy knew she wasn't a match for the girl, if anything she would be badly beaten and busted at the same time. She risked a glance at the pirate and was glad to see he was panicking too. Lucy glared at him, he had better come up with something, else they would both be in deep water. She wasn't sure if he understood but she could swear he gave her a slight nod.

In a flash Kagura was upon her, sword sheathed as always, her speed was incredible. Lucy barely had time to raise her hand, let alone dodge out of the way. The butt of the sword caught her in the stomach and Lucy fell back winded. Kagura came at her again, this time swinging the sword from above her head, Lucy flinched expecting pain to envelope her but it didn't come. Kagura's attack had missed, by the slightest margin. Lucy looked over at the pirate who had a look of concentration spread across his face. Lucy wasn't sure what he had done but she knew he was risking a lot to keep their secret safe, whoever the woman was had the man leashed with fear alone.

Lucy conjured the light into her hands again, she wasn't sure what she could do with it but she felt as if doing something would be more effective a tactic than just letting Kagura attack her. Kagura charged again, but this time Lucy was ready, she avoided the first strike and was lucky when the second follow up strike narrowly missed her head, she knew who to thank for the miss though she didn't think she'd ever truly be thankful to him. In the moment break between swings Lucy thrust her hands into Kagura's face causing the ball of light to envelop the mage's features. Kagura said nothing but continued swinging, no longer even close to Lucys location. The girl was blinded, be it momentarily but it was enough, Lucy swung her leg round and kicked the mage as hard as she could. Unfortunately Lucy wasn't exactly the strongest person and her leg rebounded off the muscular woman in front of her without doing any damage. However it seemed their fight was over. The mysterious woman from the office appeared at the door and instantly the fight disintegrated.

The dark haired woman looked at the pirate with a somewhat angered look on her face though if she was going to say anything she decided against it.

"That will do, take her back."

Lucy was dragged quickly back to her cell which was instantly locked behind her. Before he left Lucy heard the pirate mutter a word of thanks before leaving her in the dark. Lucy sat silently for a few moments, collecting her thoughts before calling out for Millianna. She needed to ascertain what the girl knew about the mysterious woman and what had happened to Kagura. In the end, it was more than likely her team would need to beat the woman, after all, Fairy Tail never let a betrayal go unpunished.


	15. Broken Resolve

**A/N: It's been a while. I apologize for that but thing happen :) hope your still enjoying my story. The last episode of the anime aired today :( though hopefully it'll pick back up from where it left off in a few months time.**

Natsu was beginning to get flustered. He sat with Happy nestled in his nap watching a building from behind the treeline. They had been watching the same house for the last few hours and as of yet nothing interesting had happened. Natsu still wasn't entirely convinced that Taro knew what he was doing but he refused to go in before the mage was ready. They had driven the lorry up to a small clearing not 5 minutes walk away from the building before Taro had demanded they 'spy' on their would be enemies. The building they were watching was a large farmhouse, the walls were made of a red clay brick and the roof looked like it was in needs of repair. The thick tile roof had gaps in places and long draping ivy clawed up the walls. It looked homely, though it's location was a little obscure. Taro had said that this was where the farmer who grew the grapes to make the wine had lived. It looked the perfect location for a hideout but Taro still refused to move. Natsu wasn't sure what to think, he looked over at the dark haired boy who was sitting, his head resting on his knuckles, a look of concentration spread across his face. Taro slowly turned to face the dragon slayer as if sensing his frustration.

"I think we're in the wrong place."

Natsu had been fearing the words, he himself had realised the fact already, after all not a soul had left the building since they had began camping outside of it. Not only that but nobody had passed the windows, as far as Natsu could tell there was nobody inside at all. Natsu let out a disappointed sigh. He noticed that Taro was still starring at the building, maybe the boy was working on a new plan. Natsu wasn't sure but he was inclined to believe that Taro wasn't just sitting around idly. In fact judging by Taro's face they could in fact gain something from the house.

"There's people inside the house... lots of people."

Natsu had to admit he was surprised by the comment. As far as he could tell the place was abandoned, recently perhaps, but uninhabited nonetheless. Natsu was about to question how Taro knew but he realised the boy was using the same technique that he had used to spot the second ship. Magic sonar or something, Natsu still didn't quite have his head around it.

"Let's go beat 'em up." Natsu's resolution was so simple that it brought a smile to Taro's face. In fact before he knew it Taro was forced to throw his hand over his face to stifle his laugh, however a short snort echoed through the trees. It only took Taro a second to regain his composure but it was enough time for whoever occupied the house to locate them. Natsu felt a cold shiver run down his spine as he turned to watch the house again. Nothing had changed, in fact the building still sat silently, giving at least the appearance that it was empty. Taro slowly stood up and brushed the dirt from his trousers.

"Well guess that settles it."

Natsu was once again confused by Taro's thought process. What exactly had been settled. Before Natsu could ask the dark haired mage leapt out into the clearing and made his way to the house. Natsu was shocked but he had to admit this was more to his liking. Natsu was far more inclined to waltz in first and think later. The dragon slayer quickly followed the s-class mage with rejuvenated faith. As he entered the clearing the door burst open, an old man holding a shotgun waved at them angrily. The man must have been in his late sixties and despite his age looked rather healthy. However, the man was visibly shaking, the shotgun bounded up and down in his hands. Taro simply cocked his head to the side and continued towards the house, seemingly unaffected by the lethal weapon in the hands of the terrified old man. Instantly a blast went off and Natsu felt the shells whistle past his ears. The trees behind him cried as their leaves were ridden with holes. The shot hadn't even been close, perhaps it was just a warning, but something told Natsu that even if the man had shot to kill, his accuracy wouldn't have been much better.

Taro continued to walk towards the doorway unaffected by the shot. The man turned his gun to him aiming down the sights, Taro didn't even flinch, he was almost at the doorway at this point and if the man pulled the trigger he wouldn't miss. Natsu wasn't sure if Taro was brave or just plain mental though the boy's plan seemed to have worked. The old man threw down his gun in defeat, tears beginning to appear in his tired eyes. The tears seemed to do a better job than the gun as Taro paused for a split second before taking the last few strides to the door. The man was quivering where he stood, Natsu almost felt sorry for him, he was tempted to call out to Taro to tell him to stop. As far as Natsu could see, Taro was causing the man pain, be it emotional.

"My name is Taro, it's a pleasure to meet you." Taro's voice cut through the scene like a knife through butter. The words seemed to change the entire scenario. The tears in the man's eyes instantly vaporised, and a look of wonder spread across his old features.

"You... you mean your not here for the girls?" The old man's voice cracked as he spoke clearly he had been under a lot of pressure. Natsu finally made his way to the doorway and lent a hand to the old man.

"I'm Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail." Natsu's trademark smile radiated out as he slung an arm over Taro's shoulder.

"Aye, I'm Happy." The little blue exceed chimed as he landed ontop of Natsu's head. The three of them had unknowingly struck the strangest of poses and the old man burst into fits of laughter, tears running down his cheeks. It confused Natsu for a second but he soon realised that the old man was still shaking, still terrified. A small girl crept up to the door and looked up at them with large brown eyes. She must have been about five years of age, she had brown hair tied into pig tails and was incredibly cute. Natsu must have starred too long as the little girl quickly grabbed hold of the old man's back and hid herself from view. Natsu looked to Taro who had bent down to look the girl in the eyes. It was a side of the boy Natsu had not seen before. Apparently he was rather good with children. The girl nodded to Taro's question and he smiled in return before straightening up to look the old man in the face.

"How many do you have in here?" Taro's eyes were clear and determined, it was as if he had been expecting the particular scenario. Natsu kept feeling as though he was missing a tick around Taro, it wasn't as if Natsu was a particularly quick boy but Taro always seemed to have some kind of hidden information. The old man wrinkled his nose, he knew that he would have to give up the information to the mages at his door one way or the other. If they were truly there to help him, they deserved to know, if they were going to hurt him, they would kill him and find out anyway. The old man let out a tired sigh and beckoned the boys inside. The little girl walking sheepishly behind dragging her feet along the dark wooden floor boards. They trailed through the run down building, the inside didn't look particularly habitable. The floorboards had mould running along their length, it looked like someone had splattered green paint over them and they felt a little soft under foot. The walls were mostly baron, save for a torn picture here or there, in fact whoever owned the property had clearly taken their worldly belongings with them.

The group made their way through the house towards the back. As they approached the kitchen the old man opened a door which blended into the wall making it difficult to see without prior knowledge of it's existence. The door led down a steep flight of stone stairs which were grey with age. They travelled down in silence, the corridor was lit by orange glowing lanterns that hanged from the walls, even then, it was particularly difficult to see each step from the next. Finally they reached the bottom, the stairs plateaued into a full sized living space about half the size of the ground floor of the house. Nothing was separated into rooms but there was a distinct area full of beds, an area dedicated to eating and even a corner for the toilet. It was like a whole new world, underground. The smell was what hit Natsu first, the stench of sweat and dirt, people whom hadn't washed properly in a long while. It wasn't exactly a pleasant smell and Natsu had to prevent himself from causing offence. There were a number of girls dotted around the area now that Natsu stopped to look. They ranged from toddlers to adolescence, their hair colours ranging from pink to blue. It was the strangest mix of people Natsu had ever seen cooperating, well bar his own guild maybe, it was clear that none of them were related. As the old man entered the underground room each of the girl's heads turned to give him a questioning look, he replied with a soft, sweet smile, assuring them that everything was okay. It worked on the younger girls, but the older ones, those whom were more suspicious, made a move towards the man. He waved them down and gestured towards a table in the corner. Taro, Natsu and Happy found themselves surrounded in moments, everyone in the room had dropped whatever they were doing, which hadn't appeared to be much, and gathered at the table. The small girl whom they had met at the door, potentially the youngest of the lot, sat on the old man's lap. Natsu could see the bulging vein on his forehead, the sign that stress was overwhelming him. Natsu felt bad for the man, he was protecting these kids the same way, from the same thing, that he wanted to save Lucy from. If only there was a way for Natsu to convince the man they were on the same side, he knew if they swapped positions, he wouldn't have the strength to let the strangers into his haven. Heck he would probably fight till the death to protect his friends.

Taro was clearly thinking along the same lines. Natsu could see that the dark haired boy was looking around the room for some way of encouraging the man. The man was scared, terrified, knowing he didn't have the power to stop Taro or Natsu basically doing whatever they wanted to him and the girls. Taro couldn't see a way to open the man up. What could he do? The guild emblem tattooed onto his forearm clearly wasn't enough, marks like these could easily be forged and besides, out here, in the stretch of ocean between Bosco and Fiore, guild's didn't have the same recognition. It frustrated Taro that there was nothing he could do, he needed the man's help, the man's knowledge to locate Lucy. It was then that a black haired women pushed through the small crowd of girls. She wore a blue two piece, more or less just a bikini top and small skirt. Her hair was bushy and rather overwhelming, held back by a bache headband. Around her wide neck was a basic necklass consisting of what looked like shark teeth arranged neatly so that the distance between each tooth was identical. It wasn't the girl that interested Taro, it was Natsu's reaction. The dragon slayer suddenly sprung into life, his finger pointing accusingly at the dark skinned women who had just emerged from the crowd.

"You... your." he began. The women nodded slowly and smiled at Natsu before flashing her guild mark, one that Taro had seen many times. Mermaid Heel.

"Risley, Risley Law of Mermaid Heel at your service." The women smiled at Natsu, the two had never officially met, as far as Natsu remembered, despite them both competing in 'Chariot' together. Still Natsu recognised her face and Risley seemed to remember him too. Taro saw the glimmer of hope, if Risley had been excepted they had the chance, they had the bait. He couldn't help but smile.

It was the old man who spoke first, he seemed surprised by the event, though it appeared he'd finally made up his mind.

"My name is Harold, I was once considered the leader of this island, though these days are different... Tell me, how much do you know of our plight?"

It couldn't have worked out better if they had wanted it to. The fact that Risley knew who Natsu was, and trusted him, seemed to be enough for Harold. Taro shook his head.

"We don't know much, we only got here a few hours ago but they took our friend."

The words seemed to hit a sore spot, the man recoiled in misery, a deep frown crossing his brow.

"I'm sorry to hear that." He muttered, it was clear he was hiding more. "I'll start from the beginning. The pirates came to our little island about 6 months ago, I know that may seem like a long time but it feels like an eternity for us. Anyway, we've dealt with their likes before, it's not uncommon for a rowdy group to drop by every now and again. So we sent some of our men to scare them off. You see, this island harbours unusual amounts of magical energy, people tend to pilgrimage here because of it and those that settle down always seemed to be powerful mages. Therefore the blood of our island's youth harbours vast untapped magical power. In other words, many of us are extremely strong mages, we can pretty much deal with any problems ourselves. However, these particular pirates had no difficulty defeating even our finest. It was the first time in history we had been over run. People panicked, some people left the island, running to Bosco or Fiore. Others stayed. Those that stayed... they endured so much. People would go missing in the middle of the night only to turn up again battered and bruised. The pirates seemed to take pleasure in throwing their weight around. It made me sick. We lived with it for a time, after all, we're a proud people, if nothing else. But, when she came, everything changed. The queen of death herself walked onto our shore and demanded each and every female be presented to her. We of course refused, so they took them by force. It was at this point when I decided enough was enough. I ordered everyone to leave, to get away from the island. People cramped onto ships to get away, some made it, others were sunk and left to drown. So many people died and we didn't even know why. They wanted our girls, our women and our children, but for what reason we didn't know. We begged for the help of Fiore and Bisco, we sent a request to the mainland, hoping someone would help us. It proved futile, all those who came to help were quickly defeated, killed usually, but the women would be taken and held away. The girls you see here are the only ones left on this island, the only ones whom have not been tainted by the witch. I'm afraid, their families didn't make it... they didn't have the means to flee. I'm just an old man with no magical bone in my body but I would give my life for this island, for these people."

At the last sentence tears began to flow down Harold's cheeks, a gentle flow at first before erupting into full blown floods. The emotional energy required to recount the sorry tale had clearly taken it's toll on the man. He didn't sob, he just let the tears fall.

"Mermaid Heel took on the request about a week ago." It was Risley that had spoken, her voice was unusually quiet, soft. Natsu could see the tears in her own eyes. "They got us though, they got Millianna and Kagura. The woman, the witch, she's too strong, she beat Kagura. I managed to get away and wound up here but... we've been living in fear of being found ever since I came, after all they know I'm on the island, they're almost definitely looking for me... I'm sorry."

The entire room was in balls of tears by this point, only Natsu and Taro had managed to keep their faces dry, even Happy had fallen for the tales, deep rivers flowing down his blue cheeks. Natsu looked at Taro and saw his own expression reflected back at him, if they hadn't been determined before, they sure as hell were now. For what seemed like ages the boys sat around the crying room, the only sound the misery of the children. Finally Taro spoke.

"What kind of magic do they use?" Though it was a simple question and possibly not the most reassuring words that could have been uttered, it was pretty much a deceleration of war. The old man straightened up, the tears finally drying on his wrinkled cheeks, though it was Risley that spoke.

"It's some kind of mind magic, she breaks you down from the inside." Risley's voice was shaking though the words were easy to decipher. Natsu could take it any more.

"Old man, you don't have to cry any more... just leave it to us."


	16. Falling Tears

**A/N: So I have critically slowed down my updating speed. Sorry about that but I'm really busy for the next week or so. Still the story must continue, so here we are again :) Thanks so much for reading,**

When Lucy awoke it was still dark. She had a crick in her neck from sleeping on the cold, hard, concrete floor of her cell. She hadn't meant to fall asleep, in fact she had tried everything she could to stay awake, but the events of the day must have taken it out of her, or she had been drugged again by the pirate man. She slowly pulled herself into a seated position, trying to get the blood pumping around her body again. Thoughts of the previous day flooding back to mind. She tried to picture Kagura's face, the weird emotionless expression and the robotic movements. She had so many questions for the girl and yet, somehow Lucy had the feeling that Kagura was in no mind to answer any of them. What ever had happened to her had somehow tethered her control. Lucy knew, without a fact, that whoever the black haired mysterious woman was, she was extremely powerful. It took everything Lucy had not to break down in tears at the thought, Lucy had never been strong and despite her best efforts she often felt helpless in fights. This particular scenario was no different, perhaps even worse than normal. She had no knowledge of the magic the enemy was using, no strategy to counter it, and more importantly no Natsu to watch her back. She let out a sigh and ran her fingers though her now dirty blonde hair, she could feel the grease sticking to her fingers. It was revolting but Lucy was pretty sure a shower was out of the question. The thing Lucy wanted the most was to go home, sit down and enjoy herself at the guild with all her friends, since that was currently out of the question her more realistic request was to speak to Milliana. She wanted to know exactly what had happened, despite the fact that the questioning was likely to cause the cat woman some pain.

Lucy pushed herself up to the barred doorway and let out a little whine as her cheeks pressed up against the cold iron bars. Lucy starred out into the dark corridor letting her eyes adjust to the different light. She let out a little squeak trying to get Milliana's attention, however there was no reply. Only silence answered Lucy's cry as it echoed around the walls. Lucy tried again, this time a little louder. Again only silence echoed back. Lucy groaned and thought about trying again when the door at the end of the corridor burst open. Lucy jumped back from the bars, her heart instantly shooting up to a ridiculous tempo. She could hear the footsteps coming down the corridor as she tried to curl back up on the floor, pretending to be asleep. The pain in her neck made it hard though, she let out a little whine as she folded herself down and realised immediately that there was no point trying to appear to be unconscious. She sat and waited for who ever it was to come to her, not that she had a choice, her heart still beating like a metronome on steroids. When the man appeared in front of her she let out some air, it wasn't exactly someone she wanted to see, but at least it wasn't the woman who she was sure could, and would, tare her head off.

The pirate looked at her quizzically letting a snarl envelope his features. It was the white haired pirate that had brought her here, the only person she had seen since arriving on the island more than once. He spoke softly, which surprised Lucy but she refused to let her guard down.

"Morning darling. Have a nice nap?"

Lucy shuddered not really wanting to have a conversation with the man. Her silence didn't seem to perturb him at all.

"The mistress is out so I'll stick my neck out... thanks for not letting me have it."

Lucy had to admit she was surprised by the pirates words. He was quite clearly not a pleasant person, years on the sea had caused him to hold resentment towards the land. The words of thanks seemed out of character. Lucy pushed herself up so she could look into the man's eyes. She was surprised to see them filled with terror.

"Errr... no problem." Lucy felt awkward in her reply but the look in the pirates eyes forced her hand. The pirate let out a sigh and ran a finger down his scar.

"Here." He said handing Lucy a small roll of bread through the bars. Despite being apprehensive about the origin of the food Lucy felt her stomach grumble and she grabbed it taking a bite unquestioning. The pirate watched her chew for a bit before continuing, Lucy suddenly realised the man had no intention to leave her in peace.

"There's no freedom on land, the sea's where a man can truly be himself." Lucy let the words sink in, now giving the pirate more of her attention. The man seemed different from before, she assumed it was to do with the fact his leash was now somewhat relaxed, for the time being.

"I wouldn't know" Lucy commented nonchalantly trying to gauge the man's reaction. The white haired man let out a little snort.

"I wouldn't expect a princess like yourself to understand." At this Lucy snorted back and soon the couple found themselves laughing through the bars. Lucy wasn't exactly sure why, but she had relaxed a little towards the man, she still definitely kept her guard up but the aura of evil didn't seem to be so grand. The man turned now, away from the bars, and looked down the corridor, to the cells Lucy hadn't passed the day before. "She plays us like fools, my men and I. She's had us wrapped around her spidery fingers for too long... not that we can get away now. Our lives, our fates will be decided by her."

Lucy frowned as she looked at the man expecting to hear more. However the pirate seemed to have decided he'd said too much, he turned and slowly walked towards the exit speaking softly over his shoulder.

"It's not often I thank the lord that I'm a man... but at least it's only my life that's forfeit around that woman." He turned as he spoke one last line, "Your friends will probably be dead come noon."

Lucy sat in silence after the man had left, she polished off the bread, just about keeping her emotions in check. However as she swallowed the last mouthful a lone tear dropped down her cheek followed by another, and another. Lucy sat weeping into her hands silently, for some reason she was inclined to believe that man. If he had been aggressive, if he had been truly evil, she had faith that her friends would pull through. However what she had witnessed from the pirate, what she had taken from the conversation was a cold realisation of the truth. Everyone on the island was at the mercy of a single woman, a single person was enough to cause an entire island of mages to cower in fear. Not only that but she had witnessed the dread of a pirate, a man who was meant to be free on the ocean had been tamed and forced to serve. The man had given up all hope, lost all faith in his own strength, and Lucy didn't really feel as if she deserved any hope herself. The tears continued to flow as time continued to pass.

Once the tears had dried up Lucy looked around the room suddenly aware of a loud host of voices coming from outside. Propping herself up, she glanced out of the small barred window. Outside a large group of men, dressed in a strange assortments of clothing were gathered around arguing with each other. There must have been about ten of them, and it dawned on Lucy that they must be the pirate crew the white haired man had talked about earlier. Some of them were singed, holes burnt through their clothing. Lucy let out a little gasp realising that she only knew one person whom fought with fire on this island. Had they caught Natsu... was he okay... was he dead?

Lucy screwed her eyes shut before looking again more closely this time. There was noway that a crew this small could possibly sail the ship she'd seen come collect her from the fishing boat. They would need more hands than this to hoist the sail, let alone tend to any other duty aboard. Lucy craned her neck despite how sore it was and caught a glimpse of a person, laid sprawled out on the grass, not moving. Lucy gasped as she bit down on her lip, the person was male and although she couldn't see their face she could tell he wasn't a pirate. Lucy didn't know what to think, they had been after Natsu, Taro and Happy, logic would suggest that the person on the floor was therefore... Lucy caught herself before her imagination got away from her. There was no way those three could have been caught by this rowdy lot, no way in hell. Still, Lucy found herself peaking, trying to get a better look of the immobile person. It became clear to her that they weren't moving, they were almost definitely dead, she prayed it wasn't one of her friends though felt bad for doing so. Who ever it was, they were someone's son after all.

It took Lucy a while before she realised that there was a woman standing outside, the same woman she saw in the building not 24 hours ago. The woman was dressed in a black dress which swept down to her feet, trailing on the muddy ground behind her. It looked like something you might wear to a ball, not a fight. Lucy also noted she didn't even have the sign of a mark on her though she was pleased that the woman seemed reasonably shaken up. Clearly the 'battle' if it had even occurred, had been tougher than she had been expecting. The woman pointed at the ground and immediately a man threw himself at her feet, allowing himself to become a stool for her. She gladly climbed onto his back, now towering above the men and looking even more ominous than ever. She flicked her hair back and opened her mouth, bellowing out at the men with a voice so confident it made Lucy shudder.

"You men are useless, like you have always been and always will be." Lucy watched as each of the burly pirates winced in turn, it was almost funny to see, the muscular, scarred pirates cowering like children. "Still we got one of them."

Lucy felt her blood freeze, 'they'd got one of them'... did that mean... no.

They woman's voice continued to echo out across the plain, the pirates huddled together like penguins in the cold, safety in numbers.

"The ridiculous fire brat wasn't as strong as you seemed to think." The woman spat as she spoke the words her spit landing accurately atop the motionless body Lucy had seen earlier. Lucy could feel her heart rising in her chest, she wasn't going to think about what she had just heard. It wasn't worth the emotional breakdown until she new the truth. She starred at the body again trying to see through the mass of pirates, trying to view the person's face. When she looked back up she was face to face with the one person she truly truly feared. The dark haired woman snarled at her causing Lucy to jump back into the safety of her cell. How the heck had she spotted her? The woman simply continued to snarl before her face spread into a smirk. What scared Lucy the most was the fact the woman was clearly showing her emotions, when they had spoken previously the woman had been as cool as a cucumber, now she was riled up. More dangerous than ever.

"We met your friends."

The words cut Lucy deeper than she wanted, deeper than she thoughts words possibly could. For the second time that day her heart sped to a ridiculous tempo, so fast, too fast. Lucy began to pant as she tried to keep herself in check, she could feel the panic attack beginning to claw its way at her insides. Lucy tried to prepare herself for whatever the woman was going to say next, her thoughts entirely on the body that lay outside. Lucy refused to cry, she wouldn't give the woman the satisfaction, never. The woman continued to smirk at her, clearly enjoying the taunting.

"You have good friends, just not good enough I'm afraid." Lucy stared at the woman pleading. In reply the smirk faded from the black hair's face and she turned around and nodded towards the cell. Instantly Lucy could hear keys jangling and knew they were coming for her even before she felt the firm hand tug at her hair. She was too broken to resist, she climbed to her feet and was led out into the courtyard where her captors were waiting. It was only once she was outside that she looked up. The courtyard hidden by the wall of the cell was littered with grown, singed men, holding their stomachs, their sides, their arms. Literally any injury possible seemed to have been endured by someone, though nobody seemed to be dead. It was clearly the handiwork of her favourite dragon slayer and Lucy felt her heart skip a beat at the thought. Natsu had really put the hurt on these guys, that was just like him. Lucy was tugged around to the side, the same side that was visible from her window. She was thrown to the floor in front of the dark haired woman who was now sitting on her pirate-stool. Lucy didn't want to raise her head, so she didn't, but a rough hand forced her gaze up anyway. The woman tilted her head to the side looking at the blonde girl as if she were nothing more than a sack of potatoes.

"What?" Lucy asked with as much bite to her voice as she could muster. The woman didn't seem effected by the question as Lucy had hoped, in fact she nonchalantly smiled at her.

"Why don't we reunite you and your friends." Lucy was tugged to her feet again and pulled towards the other men, the other pirates. Slowly the crowd spread away and Lucy caught a glimpse of the body on the floor as more and more of it was revealed. Soon she stood above the unmoving body, the skin pale as snow, clearly dead. Lucy felt the tears gathering in her eyes and, this time, she didn't hold them back.


	17. Moored

**A/N: Hey everyone, I can't believe it's almost been a week since I last updated. I'm clearly being lazy so make sure you tell me to get my ass in gear. In all seriousness though I've had quite the busy week and still have a few busy days to go but should be able to update a little more frequently, one hopes :)**

The group sat around the table in silence for what seemed like an age. Natsu's words echoed through their minds and although nobody spoke it, it was the first time they had something to smile about in a long while. It wasn't as if the words were particularly inspiring, no Natsu wasn't exactly what one might call a connoisseur of words, but when he spoke people tended to believe him. Maybe it was because he always spoke from his heart, or just because people always wanted to believe him but wherever Natsu went, he made people understand him. It was a trait that very few people possessed. Still it wasn't as if it was possible for their situation to be remedied was it? After all there were no longer any people on the island, bar the small group in the basement anyway. It was what it was, and just maybe if the island could be rid of the 'pest' then they could start over, go back to being a small, isolated community they once were. It still required one thing though, something that seemed impossible, the defeat of a wizard so powerful she had brought a country to it's knees. Harold knew at the back of his mind that her strength must be comparable to that of the wizard saints of Fiore. It was a scary thought though Fairy Tail was the guild that had defeated the great Jura, well Laxus had, so who was to say that it wasn't possible. Fairy Tail had proven everyone wrong in the grand magic games, maybe they would prove him wrong here.

It was a comfortable silence which wasn't broken for what seemed to Natsu like years, though in reality it was no longer than a few minutes. The Fairy Tail mages spent the next few hours getting to know the girls, each of whom had their own story, their own tale of pain. It broke Natsu's heart again and again to think what each of them had gone through, but it fuelled his fire, his desire. It was like petrol to the dragon slayer, he was always more powerful when his emotions were raging. By the time Natsu had met everyone he was feeling incredibly tired, he realised that in the basement there was no obvious means of telling the time, no windows to look out of and no clocks lined the walls. Nevertheless his body was telling him it was late and he took the opportunity to rest, after all by the sounds of it he would need to be at his best to save Lucy. Perhaps it was out of character for Natsu to take the passive approach again, but there was too much at stake this time, too many promises that Natsu couldn't let down. That and he really was tired, the boat ride hadn't half taken it out of him, he was torn between rushing out to save her and waiting for Taro to finish making a plan. Natsu's tired eyelids began to flutter closed as he glanced over at his S-Class friend who was in conversation with Harold, the little girl they had met at the door sitting on his lap. Taro clearly wasn't ready so what harm would a ten minute nap do?

Taro looked over at his pink haired firey friend and smiled to himself. His plan was working just as he wanted. Ever since he had told Natsu that Lucy had been captured he had been subtly syphoning off the dragon slayer's magical energy, reducing Natsu's ability to over react. Taro may not have known the fire mage for a long time but he had heard a lot about him via his reputation. Nothing meant more to Natsu than his friends and even to Taro it was clear that Lucy topped that list. She was the one person Natsu would never stop trying to protect. Taro knew that if nothing was done Natsu would have gone charging off in an instant to save the blonde hair celestial mage without a single thought for his own safety. That may have very well worked out fine, especially with Taro's own strength to back him up but Taro had an inkling that something more was going on behind the scenes. By removing some of Natsu's energy he had managed to keep the boy somewhat leashed, maybe it was a betrayal of trust but Taro had deemed it necessary. It wasn't as if he had been stealing the energy, no Taro had the ability to move energy from one object to another he had simply placed the energy into Natsu's scarf, for use when they both needed it. The fact Natsu was only now feeling the impacts surprised Taro somewhat but it showed him that the precautions he had taken were indeed necessary. A sleeping Natsu gave Taro a moment to set his plan in motion. After all, having not found Lucy's captors at the farmhouse had more or less set them back to square one. Taro motioned to Harold to tell Natsu where'd he'd gone if the boy were to wake up before he got back and slowly rose to his feet. He wouldn't be able to monitor Natsu's magical energy if he left the boy alone but assuming he actually slept for a few hours it aught to give the dark haired boy enough time to get them a lead. With one last glance at his team mate Taro took his leave and walked up the solitary grey steps back to the surface, Happy following behind him.

As soon as the cold night air brushed against Taro's face he shivered slightly. It was a cold evening, especially considering how warm the day had been. Nevertheless the night was clear, not a single cloud impaired the rays of light that shone down through the atmosphere, illuminating the ground in a pale dull glow. The moon was full in the sky, as round as any ball, and despite it being late Taro could hear the bird's nestling in the trees. If the circumstances had been any different he would probably have liked to sit and enjoy such a sight. He turned to his blue feline companion and nodded. They had already discussed the plan of action. When the group had been in the port town Taro had pointed to a little bay at the top of the island, highlighting that it was the only place possible for a ship to make anchor. He still stood by that theory, even if he had been wrong about the where a bouts of Lucy's captors. If he was able to find the ship, he should be able to locate at least one of the pirates and that was surely all he needed to find their hide out. Heck the ship itself may very well be the place he was looking for, though somehow he had his doubts.

Happy fluttered his wings and together the two set off into the night in the direction that Taro assumed the bay would be found. As they flew they passed over deep dense forests in which it was clear that no sane person dwelled. It occurred once again to Taro that this part of the island was left uninhabited despite the land being incredibly fertile. It was something that perplexed the s-class mage though he let it slide, the island probably had too small a population to require such space. It didn't take the couple long to clear the tree line and before long they were staring down at a small open, sandy bay which was sheltered on all sides by tall stone cliff faces. In the middle, rocking slowly at the waves lapped at it's helm, sat a magnificent ship. It must have been about 50 feet long with the deck lightly splatter in 'windows' in which several cannons poked out from. The sails were folded down but the three large main mast's looked fearsome in the low light. On the front a wooden, serpent-haired woman was carved with large rounded hollow eyes. Taro had to admire the artwork, even if it was meant to be a warning to those that may oppose the ship. Happy gently landed a good hundred metres away on the soft sandy beach. The shingle felt warm against Taro's toes as he removed his shoes and socks in order to wade the short distance to the boat. Happy clung to the mage, clearly terrified of what they may find on board. After all the ship belonged to the same blood thirsty men that had taken over an entire island, as well as capturing his team mate.

As Taro reached the wooden monster he began to slow his pace down, trying to match his movements to the rocking of the waves in order to disguise any sound he may make to alert the attention of anyone aboard. Slowly but surely he made his rounds around the boat checking for easy access points, and more importantly, any means of escape. Luckily the way the boat was moored meant that it had sunk down slightly into the wet sand allowing for easy access to the groves in the wood. It wouldn't be too difficult to scale the ship from any angle. Taro chose to start from the back, after all he would more than likely need to get below deck. It would be possible to ask Happy to simply fly them up but Taro wanted to make sure the blue exceed had means of escape should anything go pear shaped. After all if the cat was carrying him there was no way he would be able to get away. It only took a moment for the s-class mage to make his way to the upper deck, the ship being incredibly easy to scale. As he stood aboard the stern he squinted into the darkness trying to make out any shapes. It wasn't as if it was particularly late so Taro expecting the deck to be much more lively but he was met with a ghostly silence, not a single soul was around to question his presence. Taro huffed at the ease of it all, preferring a challenge was something he shared with Natsu though unlike the dragon slayer he was much less destructive in his way of doing things.

It only took a few steps to reach the cabin door which lead below deck, usually Taro would be hesitant to do things quickly but even using his 'sonar' like magic he could tell the ship was more or less empty. In such a confined space his magic 'radar' was my no means perfect, in fact it was completely possible that there were a number of men simply waiting behind the door to ambush him, but something told Taro the coast was clear. Without stopping for breath he pushed the door open and scanned his new surroundings. He was within the sleeping quarters, rows of hammocks lined up so that there was almost no space between them. It was almost impossible to move through the room, even whilst they were empty, Taro could only imagine the difficulty the crew must have when the room was full and they were rocking on the wide open sea. Still, there was clearly not a soul in the space so Taro quickly ducked through the web of hammocks and passed into the kitchen which was again empty. Taro turned around and continued to explore the ship, he knew what he was looking for, either a person or a captain's quarters in which he could find some kind of lead. It didn't take him long to find a large wooden door with a brown ornate border, the captain's room if ever he'd seen one. Without even thinking of the circumstances he pushed the door in and entered the room, a small squeak meeting his ears as the wood creaked under foot.

The room wasn't exactly what the mage had been expecting. There was very little in the room in fact. A single wooden desk sat neatly to one side with a small book sat neatly on top of it. A tiny wooden bookcase lined one of the walls but it was almost entirely empty, save for a old torn photograph. Taro eyed the picture carefully, it was of a young, white haired man holding a small girl in his arms. Maybe even the free life of a pirate wasn't enough to run away from some problems. Taro returned the picture to where he found it making sure that it didn't retain any evidence of his presence. The journal on the desk seemed like the obvious place to look but Taro couldn't help himself from the main attraction of the room any longer.

The majority of the floor space was engulfed in a pile of what could only be considered plunder. Gold, silver, brass, anything that looked like it could be of any value was stacked in a make shift tower in the centre of the room. It was as if the pirates had raided several villages for all they were worth and not felt the need to keep it under lock or key at all. They were either extremely confident in their fighting ability or they had more than they knew what to do with. Either way it mattered little to Taro, he was pretty secure in a fight himself. He quickly began to look through the pile, it occurred to him that the houses at the port had appeared untouched so this 'loot' must have been taken from different islands. It was strange to shift through so many different things, so many objects that may have meant so much to different families seemed so meaningless when thrown together in such a pile. He picked up a gold plate which was bordered with jewels before placing it down again. Something else catching his eye. He cursed himself for not seeing it sooner and reached over to pick the object up.

Or rather objects. A set of key's each a unique and interesting shape, some gold and some silver sat a top the pile, even if Taro hadn't known it, they were clearly the newest edition. He scooped them up in one hand and spun them around his index finger taking a second to look at each key in turn. Happy looked at the boy with tears in his eyes as he whispered Lucy's name. The exceed's heart was racing fast as he tried to think of any logical reason why his female friends most beloved possession would be in this hell pile, any reason at all which didn't suggest she was dead. Taro simply placed a hand on the exceed's head in comfort, there was nothing he could say that would cheer the cat up though he was certainly not giving up hope. He placed the keys in his pocket and continued to rummage through the pile stopping as he pulled out a beautiful gold chain pendant, a small star hanging from it's centre. He smiled at the exceed finally knowing exactly what to say.

"Don't you think Lucy would love this?"

The silent tears that ran down the exceed's face stopped for a second as he pondered the question before letting out a small nod. Taro smiled and handed it to the exceed.

"Why don't you give it to her when we rescue her?"

Happy didn't make a sound and took the pendant without arguing. Taro smiled softly at the cat before heading towards the desk. He had come here for one thing and would be damned if he left without it. Taro flicked open the book to the latest entry, it was a captain's log as he had been expecting. Slowly he glanced through the lines of text noting the mention of Lucy when it came up. There was nothing about her death, that was good, but it didn't sound like she was safe either. He flicked back a few pages trying to find something that would give him what he needed. The entry was from about a week ago and although it wasn't exactly what he was looking for it sent a shiver down his spine.

_The lady caught three more girls today. All from some guild in Fiore. One of them dressed like a cat, another was chubby and hairy and the last had fire in her eyes. They were strong, especially the sword carrying one but the mistress took them down. It was barely even a fight, all she did was look into the eyes of the one of them and they stopped attacking. The same girls that beat my men to a pulp were defeated with a glare... But then, one escaped. The chubby one too. Could've sworn she was thin though, thin enough to squeeze through our fingers. The mistress wasn't happy, she killed Barney and Jaco as an example, stone cold murder like it was nothing. The heartless monster plays us like cowards, though that controls us, it's only a matter of time before our usefulness runs dry._

So it really was one woman that masterminded the entire thing. Taro had to admit it was impressive though he couldn't shake the feeling there was more behind the scenes. He still didn't really understand the reason why girl's were taken or why this island was important though he didn't expect the man who's words were written in the journal to know either. Taro flicked back a few pages and found what he was looking for.

_We unleashed a monster onto this island and we had our fun for a while but now it wants us to repay our debt. We had to bring as many girls from the village as possible to the abandoned army camp for god knows what reason. Maybe the mistress feeds on their youth to keep her beauty... all I know is that I'm glad she's not coming after my head._

Taro sighed and closed the book, he didn't need to read any more he knew where Lucy was and that was all that mattered. The rest of the mystery could be filled in when he had her safe again, after all it was his responsibility to get the team back to Fairy Tail in one piece. He nodded at the cat and together they made their way off the ship. Taro had to admit it surprised him how easy it had been. All he had done was waltz aboard an empty ship and take the information he needed, it didn't really sit right with him. There was noway any pirate would leave their ship unguarded in any normal situation. Though by the sounds of the journal they were being rather oppressed. Still the fact not a soul was around worried Taro a little as he collected his shoes from the shingle. Happy slowly lifted them up into the air took off in the direction of the farm house.

They were in the air for a few minutes when they noticed the glow of fire below them. A thick scent of ash stung their noses as the neared the house. It was Taro that realised first what was going on, and he cursed his misfortune. It was suddenly clear why the boat had been so ghostly. He looked at Happy who wordless sped towards the direction of the source.


	18. Flames of Fury

**A/N: Hey, it's been ages... sorry about that but I kinda got stuck up with exams and what not. Yeah I know its a really bad excuse but I also had difficulty writing this chapter, not entirely sure why but hey, the show must go on right :3**

Natsu awoke with a start. He hadn't even realised he'd been truly asleep, he had felt tired, but he had only meant to shut his eyes for a few moments. Falling asleep wasn't part of his plan. He cursed himself for being so weak, he had to save Lucy she could be in trouble, she could be in pain and he was lying around resting. He felt a lot better now though, if he was being optimistic, he felt re-energised. Natsu considered how long he'd been asleep, it didn't feel like it had been along time but there appeared to be nobody else around. It was then that he noticed the little girl tugging at his shirt, the same little girl that he had met at the front door. She turned her tearful eyes to stare directly into his own and Natsu felt his blood run cold. What exactly had he slept through. She pointed towards the stone stairway that Natsu had climbed down not so long ago. Pensively he scratched his tired eyes trying to quickly regain his bearings as a loud crack shot through the room. Natsu froze in place. He was still underground in the basement-house that the girls had been hiding in but even down here the sound echoed around like dog on sugar. Natsu turned and stared towards the entrance way, a sense of dread sweeping over him. Were his friends in danger? Natsu didn't even finish his line of thought as he rushed towards the staircase bounding up them four at a time.

Natsu crashed into the first floor of the house above quickly noting that it was still dark outside though the beginning dregs of daylight were starting to appear through the clouds. Natsu caught the scent of the old man before he saw him, Harold stood not three feet from the edge of the door that led downstairs though purposely not in view of any window, a worried look spread across his tired features.

"They've found us."

He spoke the words as if he was telling someone their mother had died. It was a mixture of terror and shame, as if somehow he had let down everyone. Natsu hated the look, it was the look that someone gave just before they gave up, a look he had never let himself wear, and never would. He noticed the shotgun in Harold's hand again though this time the shaking was so violent the gun looked more like a boat on open sea. Perhaps that was ironic considering the opposition that they were up against but Natsu didn't have time to think about it. He had already pledged his help to the man, to the island, and that meant he would fight to the bitter end to see it through. Natsu placed his right hand on Harold's shoulder nodding gently to the old man, he wouldn't use words but they both knew he was trying to calm the man. It hadn't even occurred to Natsu where the rest of his group were, nor the other girls until he saw Risley. The Mermaid Heel mage stood with the older girls in the adjoining corridor looking fearfully out of a crack in the wall. The tension in the air was toxic, suffocating, it felt as if someone had removed all the oxygen from the atmosphere. The girls were huddled together as if the only warmth left in the world was radiating away from their bodies. It was a sight that made Natsu's stomach lurch, nobody should have to hide from the world due to fear. It didn't matter who awaited him beyond the door, he planned on stopping the tears that flowed down their faces. Today would be a revolution lead by the flames.

Natsu took one last look at the group, remembering the stories they had told him, the pain each had endured. His fist instantly caught alight, blazing through the walls of the building, the shadows lengthened around the corridor, if the intruders didn't know they were there the glow from the windows would let them know. To Natsu it didn't matter, either way he wasn't going to sit around and wait for them, this time he was taking the fight to them.

Nobody even attempted to stop Natsu as he charged through the front door, flames flickering around his entire body, consuming him like some kind of beast. Natsu's anger was something his friends feared, and thus his enemies ought to dread. The courtyard was only basked in the early morning light so the addition of Natsu's flames illuminated the area to such an extent that it may as well have been day. There was nobody around, not a soul was in sight but Natsu could smell them, his acute senses told him exactly what to expect. The smell of alcohol, sea water and sweat was oozing from the line of trees to the left, maybe it wasn't the best of plans but the dragon slayer refused to wait around any longer. A ball of fire shot from the dragon slayer's hand and ignited a tree on the edge of the clearing. The flames licked at the leaves before it burst into an inferno of colours. Maybe a forest fire was a little dangerous but there were ways of dealing with them afterwards, after he kicked the arse of the men that had taken his Lucy, Fairy Tail's Lucy. Without another thought Natsu charged forwards, following his fire, unaffected by its intense heat. He could hear the groans of the men caught in his blaze but a light singe wasn't enough for Natsu, he wouldn't be fulfilled until each and everyone of them was scorched beyond repair. Breaking through the wall of fire Natsu finally caught sight of the group. It was larger than he expected, thirty or so men dressed in an assortment of clothing, mismatched fabrics lots of which required mending. Though the clothes weren't the dangerous part, each of the men were armed with either a sword of a pistol, barred teeth telling Natsu they were ready to attack.

Natsu was having none of it though, he practically lived for the thrill of fighting, it was probably the thing he was best at, bar destroying things; though some may claim they were related. He'd always had an affinity for it, ever since he could remember, this was the true Natsu Dragneel, this was when he was most alive. Natsu flew at the group flaming fist curled and thumped the nearest man so hard he flew back into the men behind him scattering them like skittles in a bowling alley. It slightly disappointed Natsu that the men seemed so weak, but he knew that there must be someone stronger around, otherwise Lucy would never have been captured. A large bearded man with a club took a swing at Natsu which the dragon slayer easily ducked under, countering with a strong flame powered uppercut to the chin. The man sprawled backwards, unconscious. It was already clear that Natsu's strength far exceeded that of the men he was fighting, the extent of which made it clear that they stood no chance even if they attacked together. Nevertheless the men refused to back down, they refused to run as if some kind of demon held a gun to their heads. Natsu noticed it but refused to except it, while he was in full flight simple thoughts weren't going to stop him. Natsu's foot lashed out at the nearest man leaving a soldering footprint embedded in the man's stomach. With agile movements Natsu repositioned himself moving so as to keep his opponents on the back foot but there was nobody left standing. Instead a consort of men lay wounded on the muddy ground each holding some kind of wound. Natsu's handiwork sure left a mark, this was the power of his feelings after all.

It was then that the smell hit him. It wasn't a nasty smell, a pungent smell would have attracted his attention long ago. The reason it caught his senses now was because it was a smell he recognised. A smell he had encountered not so long ago. Natsu turned quickly on the balls of his feet and was met with a cold, hard whack to the face. A sheathed sword held within a black scabbard collided with his cheek sending him sprawling backwards. The pain was immense and Natsu knew it would leave a mark but it was nothing that he hadn't experienced before. Over him stood a black haired woman dressed in her trademark white coat. Kagura. Natsu had witnessed the female's power in the grand magic games and he would be lying if he said he wasn't excited to clash horns with her, after all she had taken Erza right to her limit, something Natsu desperately wanted to be able to do himself. However, the smell was different, it was subtle, like adding salt to a meal, but it was definitely different. If that wasn't a hint it was clear from the look in her eyes. The girl Natsu had met at the grand magic games had fire behind her eyes, she had been driven by the passion of revenge, this girl was a mere shell of her former self. Her eyes were empty, as if her brain had simply decided to turn off, as if the moon had eclipsed the sun. Natsu picked himself up, it was painfully obvious that something or someone had caused this effect in the woman, and he feared that if someone as steely as Kagura could be broken then Lucy didn't stand a chance. That was unacceptable.

Natsu let the power flow through him, the time for games was over, if he wanted to stand a chance against someone of Kagura's calibur he needed everything. Lightning began to spark amongst the embers of his flames creating a concoction that shone in the dim light. Barring his teeth the dragon slayer charged. When he had first entered Lightning Dragon slayer mode his body had barely been able to take it, the strain of such enormous power was evident. However with the addition of second origin and the training he had done he had mastered the technique to almost the level of his basic fire dragon slayer artes, or so he thought, he was yet to test himself truly and this gave him the chance. He relished in the heated exchange as the two danced like birds in the sky, Kagura equal to each of Natsu's attacks. Natsu surged forward again letting the power flow into his throat and unleashing a roar like no other, a roar augmented with the power of dual dragon elements. Kagura instantly raised her sword to defend but even with her strength it was futile, the destructive power of Natsu's roar sent her sprawling upwards, Natsu followed up with an instantaneous blazing kick, as quick as lightning with no chance of counter. Kagura hit the ground hard and for a moment it appeared she would not be getting back in the fight, a thought that actually upset Natsu a little. However the disappointment was short lived as Kagura sprung back up to her feet unshaken by the brutal nature of the attack. Natsu was surprised, the way she climbed back up made it appear as if her body was in perfect condition, as if the attack had merely been a playful shove. However her body told a different story, one of her arms hung loosely by her side, clearly broken, and a long trickle of blood flowed down the left side of her face. Any sane person would have stayed down, even the most resilient Erza would have shown the pain she was in through her poker face. For the second time Natsu felt a shiver run down his spine, it was clear something was wrong with the girl, something badly wrong, and if he continued to fight like this, she would die before he worked out what needed to be done.

Natsu was torn, it was not unusual for the dragon slayer to find himself in a situation that confused him, but this time he literally had no idea what to do, he found himself thinking about what Lucy would do in this situation, after all, she was the brainy one of the couple. His thoughts were interrupted as Kagura carefully unsheathed her sword, something she had sworn only to do when the intend to kill was necessary. Natsu knew very well that she had declared the use of the blade only for cutting down Jellal and, although she had forgiven him, the fact still stood, that was a sign of murderous intent. Natsu readied himself just in time to block a potentiality literal blow to the chest, catching the sword between his hands, he could feel the blood trickling through his fingers as well as the pain, though pain meant he was alive. He growled in anger and attempted to disengage with a quick kick to the woman's stomach but instead received one to his own causing him to wince in pain. He fell to his knees, unable to control his winded body and watched as Kagura drew her blade above her head.

"Natsu!"

Natsu didn't have time to look up, not that he could as his body was still frozen in place but he knew that for the moment he would be aright. He only needed the few seconds that the distraction gave him to regain his composure and as soon as he could he rolled to the side avoiding the second potentially lethal strike from Kagura's blade. It was at this point that he felt the affects of Kagura's magic, his body felt heavy and his usually nimble movements were slow and sluggish. It took a lot of effort for Natsu to pull himself to his feet, he must have been at least three times heavier than normal and if Kagura was still moving at her normal speed Natsu wouldn't be able to dodge any of her attacks, not that he had been dodging them anyway though at this point he doubted blocking was going to be very effective. It was lucky therefore that the one person who could possibly counter the magic had just run out of the house.

Risely looked at her guild mate with a mixture of despair and belief, Natsu instinctively knew that the Mermaid Heel mage already knew the situation with Kagura, it was painfully obvious that Risley had come prepared to fight. She nodded at Natsu letting him know they would fight together, it hurt Natsu's pride to require help in such a circumstance, and although he wasn't sure it was entirely needed, he was thankful nonetheless. He let the power flow into his throat and sent a burning breath of fire and lightning hurtling towards the sword woman. Without even hesitating Kagura shifted her weight to the side, effectively dodging the blast, however it had never been Natsu's intention to strike her down with the attack, instead he followed up the breath with his knee, striking the girl in the back while she was immobilised in the air. Natsu felt the satisfying crunch of his knee sinking into the muscular back of the sword woman and knew his strike had hit home, though doubted it's significance, if Kagura was even half the fighter he thought she was, she'd be back on her feet before he knew it. No instead he had to rely on his 'partner' to take the opportunity for what it was, he glanced at Risley and was pleased to see a look of concentration on the chubby girl's face as Kagura was pinned to the ground, unable to move under the additional weight of her body, brought on by the gravitational magic. The sword woman didn't try to struggle against the inevitable, she simply stared up at the sky, or rather the tree line, defeated. Natsu took a second to catch his breath then decided it would be best to find something to confine Kagura with, after all Risley did not have the magic reserves to hold the effect for too long, especially at a potency able to restrain someone as strong as Mermaid Heel's ace. Finding nothing Natsu uprooted a burning tree and slumped it over the mage, knowing without the ability to use her arms she would not be able to move it's weight. Having done so Risley relaxed the sweat on her brow glowing the in fire light. It occurred to Natsu that the trees were still burning though for the time being he wanted to ask Risley what exactly had happened to the proud woman whom had led Mermaid Heel out during the games. Natsu was aware of the blood still dripping from his hands though the pain was yet to sink in. At least it hadn't until now, when the adrenaline running through veins began to dissipate. In reality, it hurt like hell. Natsu clutched his hands in agony and starred down at them in disbelief, not only was the skin torn to pieces but it almost looked like he had been burnt. A fire dragon slayer burnt, it was unthinkable but that's what his skin looked like, he wondered if it would ever heal, Wendy could surely do something, or better yet maybe Lucy could kiss it better.

Natsu slumped down next to Risley who was staring at the motionless figure of her guild mate and mentor. Natsu blew his cheeks out trying to decide what to say, he wasn't really good in this kind of situation, he was a boy after all, still he figured if Risley was anything like Lucy she wouldn't want to be alone. They sat in silence for a little while before Risley spoke.

"Don't you think we should put the fire out?"

It was an obvious dodge and although Natsu didn't like it, he just accepted it, once Taro and Happy returned he would pester her for answers. Thinking about it, where exactly were the two of them? Natsu felt a little irritated at being left in the dark but he knew both his friends had the guilds best interests at heart, as well as his own. The rest he'd been able to have had helped out anyway, and if he hadn't been here he wasn't entirely sure what would have happened. Natsu watched the flames flickering around him for a few moments before getting to his feet in order to play the role of fire fighter. It was only then that he noticed the shadow creeping slowly though the blaze, seemingly unaffected by the intense heat that was radiating. The figure made Natsu feel uneasy, it was moving slowly, zombie like, but definitely getting closer. It was clearly a a person and as they grew closer still it became more clear they were female. It wasn't until Natsu was face to face with woman that he felt the anger that steamed from her. An anger that rivalled that of the flames; that of Erza's; of Lucy's, it was one of the few times that Natsu felt fear. There was something wrong about this woman, she wasn't weird like Lucy, she was something he had never encountered before and he knew he needed to be on his guard.


End file.
